A Major Problem
by AliasCWN
Summary: Both Diertich and Troy have problems with majors, both their own and each others.
1. Chapter 1

A Major Problem

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

The tanks moved forward, forcing Dietrich's halftracks to retreat. He had orders to hold the desert oasis at all costs against the American advance. A shell exploded behind him and he turned to see another of his armored vehicles in flames. Several of the crew jumped clear with their clothing on fire. Their screams of fear and pain carried in the desert air even over the sounds of the battle. Or perhaps he only imagined he could hear them as they rolled frantically to douse the flames. It was a scene he had seen many times before and the screams were something he had never managed to get completely out of his head.

One of the soldiers collapsed onto the ground as the fire engulfed him. Another managed to get to his feet and staggered toward where the two sides still battled. The Captain saw him jerk as bullets tore into his body. Perhaps it wasn't right, but Dietrich was grateful for whoever had put the man out of his misery. His blackened corpse settled slowly to the ground where his skin and clothing continued to burn.

Another explosion drew his attention back to the battle. An American tank was chasing another of his halftracks. His men were trying to outrun their pursuers even as flames from the rear of the halftrack engulfed the tank in a cloud of oily black smoke. The crew of the halftrack jumped from their crippled vehicle and tried to run while the tank's view was obscured. Two of them were shot down by the ground troops that followed the American tanks. The others made it to safety behind one of the burning halftracks that littered the battlefield. Despite being armored, halftracks were no match for a tank and his men knew it.

Another shell hit near his halftrack and he heard the shrapnel bouncing off of the armored plating. The crew had raised and secured all of the shields before charging into battle but it was barely enough. He glanced back to see them all ducking below the top edge of the plating. In the door next to him he could see other halftracks through the small rectangular opening left for observation by the halftrack's designers. They were small openings, meant to provide the crew with the ability to see what was happening around them. There were similar openings in the front so that the driver could see while shielded.

The halftracks had their weaknesses; the location of the gas tank being one of them. Dietrich never thought of the openings as a weakness, he considered them to be necessities for the safety of the crew. The little opening next to his driver's head seemed small in comparison to the halftrack; certainly not something one would aim at specifically during a running battle. With bullets and shrapnel hitting the armored plating from all directions, maybe it was just chance that the bullet found the opening. His first warning that something had happened was the grunt from his driver. He felt the warm spray of blood as the bullet exited his driver's head. He looked over as the soldier slumped forward onto the steering wheel. The halftrack continued forward, out of control.

The Captain tried to climb across the center divider to reach the wheel. Behind him he could hear the 30 caliber machine gun still chattering as his crew fought to keep the enemy tanks off of them. The dead driver was a fairly large man and Dietrich had trouble pushing him far enough out of the way to regain control of the vehicle. There was no room to get into the seat and actually drive the halftrack. Dietrich had to squeeze in next to the dead man to even be able to reach the pedals.

Sliding into the small space next to the body Dietrich reached over and grabbed the door handle. He needed to give himself enough room to reach the pedals if there was going to be any hope of regaining control of the vehicle. He opened the door and pushed. The limp body tumbled slowly to the ground, crumpling as it hit the desert floor. Dietrich didn't give it a glance as he settled into the driver's seat. The door swung wide on its hinges, banging against the front fender. Bullets began to hit the doorframe and bounce off with a high pitched whine. Dietrich reached out with one hand to try to pull the door closed but he couldn't reach the handle.

He could still hear the machine gun in the rear as he struggled with the steering wheel. The halftrack bounced and rocked as it hit a shell crater and veered to the side. The violent rocking of the halftrack sent the door swinging toward the captain. He reached out again and his fingers slipped across the handle. He grabbed frantically, holding on as it tried to swing out again.

Dietrich heard the high pitched whine of a shell approaching and tried to get out of its way. The blast of the shell exploding sent shrapnel flying through the air. He heard the screams from the rear of his vehicle as the big machine gun fell silent. There was no time to check on his crew as one of the enemy tanks turned its turret toward them. The door handle slipped from his fingers as he fought to turn the heavy halftrack from the path of the tank.

The tank fired and the halftrack in front of Dietrich lurched to a stop. He barely missed crashing into it as his vehicle responded to his frantic twist of the wheel.

They slid past it just as it burst into flames and the gas tank exploded. Dietrich felt the blast push against his halftrack like a strong gust of wind. The door flew open again, leaving him exposed to the enemy fire. The captain jerked the wheel again, trying to let the momentum of the vehicle swing the door back to where he could get a grip on the handle. The heavy vehicle responded sluggishly as the wheels turned quicker than the bulkier tracks could follow.

Bullets whizzed past Dietrich's head, forcing him to duck and miss the door when it did swing back his way. The halftrack straightened out and the door swung forward again, stopping halfway open.

There was another jerk as something hit the back of the vehicle. Dietrich felt it in the wheel he held and in the sharp jolt of the seat. The halftrack began to lose power and slow no matter how hard he pushed on the pedals. Behind him the screams had stopped, the crew either dead or unconscious. Dietrich fought the wheel and looked for someplace to abandon the dying vehicle.

A small mound of sand seemed to be the only cover he was likely to find. The halftrack was losing power so fast he knew he wouldn't be able to get it much further. With the last of his forward momentum he managed to coax the heavy vehicle up the slight slope to the mound. He planned to jump as the halftrack gained speed rolling down the other side, hoping the moving vehicle would hold the attention of anyone within range. It wasn't the ideal solution but it was the only one he could see that didn't involve him dying along with the halftrack.

Dietrich pulled his feet around so that they wouldn't become tangled when he jumped. A quick glance in the back confirmed that there was nothing he could do for the rest of the halftrack's crew. From the looks of it a hand grenade had been tossed into the rear compartment of the halftrack and detonated. The captain didn't have time to mourn the loss of life, another tank had taken aim at his halftrack and this time Dietrich didn't have a chance of avoiding the shell.

The shell exploded just short of the dying halftrack. It hit the sand under the rear tracks, throwing the heavy vehicle into the air. Dietrich, who had been ready to jump, found himself flying out through the open door, then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 2

Troy had Hitch and Tully circle out of range of the armored vehicles fighting for control of the desert oasis. They had taken on halftracks with their small jeeps but this time the big guns were here to go head to head with them. Troy wanted to be close enough to help if the need arose but far enough away to stay out of the way. He didn't really expect to be needed but the thing about war was that the unexpected happened all the time. He had his drivers find a nice hill to park on where they could watch the battle.

"Looks like things are getting really interesting down there." Tully drawled around the matchstick in his mouth.

"We aren't going down there." Troy growled without looking at the private.

"Just saying Sarge, it looks like the Major's men have them on the run."

"The ones that can still run." Hitch added.

The scene below them looked like utter chaos but it was already clear who was coming out on top. A good half of the German halftracks were either disabled or destroyed with most of those burning. A few were still putting up a fight but the majority of those still able to move were trying to retreat.

"They put up a much better resistance than I expected." Moffitt noted. "Surely their commander knew how outnumbered he was going to be once our tanks got here. They must have had some warning, a tank force this size couldn't have escaped detection this deep in German territory."

"Maybe their scouts messed up." Tully suggested.

"It would have had to have been a major lack of communication." The British sergeant responded. "I know that Jerry wanted to keep this oasis but only a fool would have tried to hold it against these odds."

"A fool or someone really determined." Troy agreed. "Like you said, they did better than expected. I can't believe they didn't have some warning."

Hitch popped a bubble that sounded loud in the silence that followed the short conversation. All four men watched as a tank chased one of the halftracks that was still making a fight of it.

"Ut-oh." Hitch uttered. "It looks like that one's almost done."

"Doesn't look like the driver's ready to give up yet though." Tully added. "Gotta give him credit, he's making them work for it."

They watched as a grenade exploded in the rear of the halftrack, silencing the machine gun.

"He's still not quitting." Hitch watched in admiration as the driver of the halftrack continued forward.

"That got him." Tully announced as a tank shell hit near the halftrack and sent it flying through the air.

"Do you think anyone survived?" Hitch asked as the tank moved on to another target.

"Not likely." Troy huffed.

"It is possible Troy." Moffitt remarked. "I thought I saw someone jump from the driver's side door just as the halftrack went airborne." The British sergeant was watching the halftrack and missed Troy's look of disbelief.

"You think someone survived that wreck?"

"I merely suggested that it was possible." Moffitt shrugged. "If he was thrown out by the momentum of the vehicle rather than blown out by the blast, theoretically it is possible."

"Theoretically." Troy replied, shaking his head. "A cold beer says there were no survivors."

"You're on. We can check after the battle, it shouldn't be long now."

"It looks like the krauts are pulling out." Hitch announced. "They look like they just decided all at once to call it quits."

"Maybe their commander was in that halftrack." Tully suggested.

"Maybe." Troy agreed. "Whatever the reason, it looks like they've had enough."

"You know Troy, according to the scouting reports, there should have been a lot more armor guarding that oasis."

Troy looked over at his second and bit his lip. "You're right. There can't be more than a company down there. The reports said there was a division holding the oasis."

"Where'd the rest go?" Hitch asked, popping another bubble for emphasis.

"Good question." Troy grinned at his driver. "Why don't we take a little drive and see if we can find any answers?" Troy swatted his driver lightly on the arm and headed for their jeep.

Hitch rolled his eyes at Tully and Moffitt. "Me and my big mouth." He turned to follow his sergeant as the others laughed and headed for their jeep.

Troy had them swing way out around the action so they wouldn't get caught up in the battle. He didn't want to get caught between the fleeing Germans and the American tanks either. Picking up speed they quickly outdistanced the retreating halftracks heading in the same direction. Troy figured that if some of the defenders had left earlier the survivors would try to rejoin them. They hadn't gone far when they found the tracks they were looking for.

"This doesn't make any sense Troy." Moffitt studied the tracks from the back of his jeep. "Why would they leave such a small force behind to defend the oasis?"

"You said they wanted to keep it."

"That's true, so it would make more sense to use the entire division to defend it. If they really didn't want to keep it then why not pull all of their armor out instead of leaving so few behind? Surely they knew what would happen."

Troy shrugged, his attention only half on the conversation. "Have you seen enough? Those surviving halftracks are going to be catching up to us soon."

"I suppose so." Moffitt answered. "But there is a mystery here and you know how much I hate mysteries."

Troy laughed. "Not true. You love mysteries; you just don't like them until after you've solved them." He turned at the sound of approaching German motors. "That's our cue to go Doctor."

Moffitt nodded. "Drive on Troy, but I will get to the bottom of this."

Troy smiled. "Don't doubt it for a second Doctor, but let's do it somewhere else." Troy gave Hitch a nod and the two jeeps darted out ahead of the retreating Germans. Troy kept looking ahead, watching for the German armor they were following. Moffitt kept an ear out for the ones who were behind them.

"Sarge."

"I saw them." Troy answered. "Find us some cover, I want to find out what they're up to."

Hitch and Tully pulled the jeeps into a wadi off to one side of the trail. Tully guarded the jeeps while Hitch ran back to erase the tire tracks where the jeeps had left the road. Once the tracks were no longer visible Hitch ran back to rejoin Tully. They each took a weapon and guarded one side of the entrance to the wadi while the sergeants watched the Germans ahead of them.

"I think they know the others are behind them." Moffitt had the binoculars in front of his eyes as the German commander halted his column.

"Whoever is in charge probably radioed ahead to let them know that they were coming. I know I wouldn't want to drive up behind a retreating column without letting them know, even if they were ours."

Moffitt smiled. "If their expressions are any indication, I don't think those survivors are going to get a very warm welcome."

"Maybe they weren't supposed to survive." Troy answered thoughtfully.

"You think they were meant to die at the oasis?"

"May be." Troy admitted. "You know some of those German officers; they think that their survival is the only thing that matters. Maybe the ones that were left behind had orders to fight to the last man to give this one time to get away."

"Then their commander probably didn't expect them to win. He expected them to keep us busy until he could escape even if it meant they all died. But, considering that he did get clear, it would seem that he would welcome any survivors; they add more halftracks to his current force."

"Not if our guys are chasing them or," Troy paused in thought, "maybe he just didn't want any witnesses to be able to talk about what he did."

"He doesn't want his commanders to know that he ran out and abandoned his responsibilities. That does make sense in a sad sort of way."

"Makes more sense than those poor saps thinking they could hold that oasis against a force the size of ours." Troy agreed.

Moffitt snorted in disgust. "I will never understand how some people can just throw away the lives of others as if they were nothing. I know that sometimes sacrifices are necessary but some officers just don't seem to care."

"That's one reason I'll never be an officer."

"I didn't mean you Troy; I could never see you doing such a thing."

"Officers take orders like everybody else," Troy explained, "even if they don't always agree with them. There are a lot of good men giving orders in this war, but there are some of the other kind too. You know what they say about power, it corrupts."

"And absolute power corrupts absolutely." Moffitt finished the quote.

"I like keeping my unit small; it gives me a lot more flexibility when it comes to making those decisions. I know we're all expendable, but if I'm going to send someone else out to die, I want to know that it's for a good reason. Their life, or death, has to mean something."

Moffitt was silent for a moment, thinking about Troy's revelations. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that we appreciate those sentiments."

Troy looked at Moffitt and grinned. "Okay, so what are those krauts up to?"

Moffitt smiled at the change of topic. "I would guess that they are waiting to get a report from the survivors." As Moffitt spoke a patrol car left the forward unit and drove around the new arrivals. "And that is a spotter going back to see if the survivors are being followed."

"It's a good thing we got out of the way."

"Agreed." Moffitt smiled. "I don't think getting caught between those two groups would have been healthy for us."

"Wouldn't have done them any good either." Troy growled.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 3

The sergeants watched as the two groups of Germans came together. A young lieutenant climbed stiffly from the lead halftrack of the newly arrived group and walked toward the small gathering of officers from the larger group. Keeping his back straight and stiff, he marched up to the officers. A major and a captain stepped forward to meet him.

They were too far away to hear anything that was being said but the body language suggested that the meeting was not a pleasant one for the lieutenant. The young officer stood ramrod straight as the major paced back and forth in front of him. Even from a distance, and through the dust and grime of the battle, they could see his face turning red as the major screamed at him. The captain stood behind the major, his face impassive, as he watched the confrontation.

"Here comes the patrol car back." Moffitt warned. "They seem to be in a hurry. I wonder if Major Russell or part of his unit tried chasing the survivors."

Troy looked back the way they'd come and frowned. "That wouldn't be a very smart move considering that they had the same briefing we did about the size of the force based at that oasis. Anyone following will drive right into an ambush."

"Maybe they don't realize that the Germans have help available so close."

"Maybe not." Troy argued. "But in these hills even a force as small as those survivors could set up a pretty devastating ambush. They could take the high ground and fire down on our guys and our guys wouldn't have any cover. They'd be sitting ducks on this road. Sometimes numbers aren't as important as tactics; we're living proof of that."

"What are they doing?" Moffitt changed the topic as the group of officers broke up, each one heading toward a tank.

"Let's go." Troy turned to head for the jeeps.

"They're planning a surprise for the Major's tanks." Moffitt realized.

"Yeah, and we have to warn them before they blunder right into it." Troy called over his shoulder.

Hitch and Tully saw them coming and were waiting in the jeeps by the time the sergeants got to them.

"It looks like some of the Major's men are chasing these guys. The Germans are planning an ambush. We have to get a warning to them before they get themselves caught in a situation they can't handle." Troy explained as they neared the jeeps.

Hitch and Tully nodded and started their engines. They had the jeeps moving before the sergeants were settled in their seats.

They skirted the trail the Germans had taken just in case there were any look-outs left behind to keep an eye on the American tanks. The last of the hills were behind them before they spotted the tanks headed their way.

"How are we going to do this Sarge?'' Hitch asked as he watched the tanks approach.

"You stay here." Troy ordered his men. "Keep the jeeps blocking the trail. I'm going to walk out to meet them and see who is in charge." Troy got out of his seat and began to walk toward the rapidly approaching tanks.

"He'd better hope Major Russell isn't in that first tank." Tully drawled quietly.

"Why is that?" Moffitt asked without taking his eyes off of the scene before him.

"Because that Major is so gung-ho he's liable to run over Sarge without stopping to see what he wants." Tully explained. "I don't like that Major much."

The sergeant looked at his driver. "I did notice that he seemed to be a bit over enthusiastic about this entire operation."

Hitch laughed. "Enthusiastic, he was practically out the door ten minutes before the briefing was over. You should have seen his eyes light up when they talked about the difficulties they would be facing. Even the mention of the expected casualties didn't seem to faze him. And the only question he asked during the entire meeting was if he would be allowed to interrogate any prisoners. Who worries about that when you're going into a tough fight?"

"I hope they don't keep us assigned to him too long." Tully continued. "I don't think that guy is playing with a full deck."

"Aren't you being a little harsh Tully?"

"He stopped me outside of the mess hall to ask me how many Germans I think I've killed. He said with our reputation we've probably killed hundreds. He sounded kind of upset when I told him we don't keep count. I tried to explain that a successful mission was more important than a high kill score. He seemed to think that we should kill every kraut that we come across."

"Really Tully, are you sure you didn't just misunderstand him?"

"He asked me how it felt to slit someone's throat." Hitch added, sounding almost angry. "Like anybody could get any pleasure out of something like that. I told him we only do it when we have to and he said it was our duty to kill the enemy anywhere and anytime we found him."

Moffitt looked from one private to another. He didn't doubt what they told him but still, it was hard to believe. He looked back toward Troy and found himself hoping that the Major wasn't in the lead tank.

Troy stood in the road with his hands in plain sight. The tank rumbled to a stop with the tracks just feet from where Troy stood. The top hatch opened and a young lieutenant stuck his head out.

"What's the matter Sergeant?"

Troy looked up at the officer and tried to place him. "Lieutenant Day isn't it?"

"Yes Sergeant and you're Sergeant Troy I believe. What can I do for you Sergeant?"

"It's more like what I can do for you Lieutenant." Troy answered. "About a mile up the road is a large German force just waiting for you and your tanks."

"We know about the halftracks Sergeant, we've been chasing them. There really aren't all that many of them." The Lieutenant smiled.

"There were only a few Lieutenant; they met up with a larger force and they are all waiting for you. And we're not talking about just halftracks; they have halftracks, tanks and plenty of men."

"Do you have any proof? If I just take your word for it Major Russell will have my bars. He's a stickler for proof."

Troy glanced behind him at the jeeps. "What if I took you up there and let you see for yourself Lieutenant?"

"You lead and my tanks will follow Sergeant." Lieutenant Day agreed.

"No Lieutenant, that would be leading you into a trap. They'd hear you coming and wait until you were close and hit you while you were out in the open. I'll take you in my jeep; your tanks will have to wait here."

By this time a grizzled sergeant had poked his head out of the second hatch. "He's right Lieutenant, if they're waiting for us they'd hear us coming in the tanks."

Lieutenant Day looked from one sergeant to the other. "All right Sergeant, I'll go with you. Sergeant Lester, you're in charge until I get back."

"Yes sir." The grizzled sergeant replied. "Don't worry sir, we'll be here when you get back." He sent Troy a warning look as if to say that the lieutenant had better get back.

"Don't worry Sergeant; we'll take good care of him." Troy smiled at the other sergeant. "We'd better get going before they realize we're on to them and come looking for us." Troy turned to leave and then paused. "Sergeant, if you see a flash from that first hill up ahead, you get those tanks turned around and get out of here."

The sergeant looked to the lieutenant to see if he agreed.

"Do it Sergeant. We won't send the signal unless it's urgent." The officer looked at Troy as if to dare him to argue.

"If you see it you'd better move fast." Troy added. "This time you'll be the ones outnumbered." He turned and headed for the jeeps. "Are you coming Lieutenant?"

The young officer rushed to catch up to him.

"Hitch, we're going back so the Lieutenant can see the ambush for himself. Moffitt, I want you and Tully to wait on that first hill. If we give you a signal I want you to pass it on to the tanks. They have orders to turn around and get out of here fast if they see a flash."

"Right."

"Hitch, let's go." Troy climbed up to sit on the radio so that the lieutenant could have the seat. Hitch avoided the road as he headed back to the wadi where they had watched the Germans. They were almost there when Hitch swerved the jeep into some rocks for cover.

"What did you see Hitch?" Troy leaned forward to ask.

"They moved tanks into that wadi." Hitch explained.

"I didn't see anything" Lieutenant Day argued.

"There weren't any tank tracks leading in there when we left." Hitch ignored the officer to explain to Troy.

"Okay, stay here, the lieutenant and I are going to go check it out."

Hitch nodded and reached for a weapon to stand guard over the jeep. Troy took a weapon and led the lieutenant on a roundabout route to the wadi. He approached from the rear, expecting the Germans to be watching the front.

"There they are Lieutenant." Troy pointed to the three tanks sitting in the wadi. "And this is only one wadi; there are half a dozen more right in this area alone."

"I see your point Sergeant." The officer tried to spot any other tanks but they were well hidden. "That would have been a nasty surprise for sure."

The officer paused and looked confused. "I don't understand Sergeant, Major Russell didn't say anything about any other tank units in the area. He had all of the scouting reports."

"Sergeant Moffitt pointed it out to me." Troy explained. "Our scouting reports said that there was a division of German armor at the oasis. The Major only went up against a company, more or less. We think these are the ones who left before your unit arrived to take the oasis."

The officer nodded at the sergeant's explanation. "I do remember them saying a division. In the heat of battle I guess I never thought to question the numbers. That unit fought pretty hard for being outnumbered. I owe you an apology for doubting you sergeant."

"Save it." Troy replied, turning to return to the jeep. "Their scouts spotted you coming and reported it. By now that German major is wondering what's keeping you. We need to get back and get your tanks out of here."

"Send the signal Sergeant, I want to give my men as much warning as I can."

"As soon as we get back to the jeep Lieutenant; I don't want the krauts to spot it and cut us off from our transportation."

"Lead on sergeant."

Hitch returned the rifle to its holster and started the jeep when he saw them coming. "A scout car just passed us Sarge; it may be going to see what happened to the Lieutenant's column."

"How many men?"

"Two."

"Drop me off with Moffitt and you take the lieutenant back to his tanks. We're going to send the signal so you'll have to catch up to them."

"Do you want me to come back for you?" Hitch asked over his shoulder.

"No, stay with the tanks. I'll catch a ride with Tully and Moffitt. We won't be far behind."

"Okay Sarge." Hitch dropped Troy off at Tully's jeep and headed for the tanks with the lieutenant. They heard them long before they caught up with them. Sergeant Lester had seen the flash and turned the tanks around. They were rolling at top speed back toward the oasis when Hitch passed them and stopped ahead of them on the road. The tanks stopped long enough to pick up the lieutenant before they took off again. Hitch led the way so he could stay out of their dust.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 4

After giving the signal Troy explained to Moffitt what was happening. "So I sent the lieutenant back with Hitch so he can get his tanks out of here and explain to the Major what we found."

"What are we going to do now?" Tully asked after hearing the explanation.

"Well Tully," Troy smiled, "I was kind of thinking about ways to keep those scouts from telling their major what happened to our tanks. I was thinking it would give the lieutenant a little more of a lead if we could keep the krauts in the dark a while longer."

Tully grinned.

"Let's go."

Troy gave Tully directions to where he had seen the tracks of the scout car leave the road. Tully's sharp eyes found the tracks before either of the sergeants saw them. He hid the jeep while the two sergeants kept watch. Once the jeep was secure, they began to hunt for the German spotters.

"No talking from here on out." Troy ordered in a whisper. "I'm not sure just where they are hiding."

The others nodded silently. Troy led them off, following the tracks of the scout car. Tully spotted the car first. The Germans had parked it in a gully in an attempt to keep it out of sight. Troy pointed at the car and nodded to Tully.

The lanky private pulled his knife and made a stealthy approach. One of the Germans sat next to the car with a headset from the radio covering his ears. Tully couldn't hear any noise, not even any static from the radio. With the headset on, Tully was optimistic that the German couldn't hear much either. He was watching the top of the hill, maybe waiting for the second man to come back. Tully glanced that way but there was no sign of the second man.

He couldn't go around the jeep or the German might spot him and sound the alarm. He couldn't go over it or the German might feel the motion of the vehicle as it shifted under his weight. Tully dropped to his stomach to go under it. The soldier never knew he was in danger until the knife slid into his back. He arched his back, his mouth opening in silent protest, as the blade sank deep. His body would have fallen forward if Tully hadn't caught hold of his shirt and held him in place. Tully pulled him upright and left him leaning against the car. Sliding back under the car, Tully made his way back to the sergeants.

Troy was waiting when he returned. Tully nodded that the job was done. This time the sergeant pulled his knife. With a nod at the others Troy started up the hill in search of the second German.

The second German was watching the American tanks as they maneuvered to turn around. Troy gripped his knife by the tip of the blade and got to his knees. Pulling his arm back, he let the knife fly. The soldier stumbled forward and tumbled down the hill. Troy ran forward and retrieved the knife. Grabbing the dead man by the shirt he pulled the body into a shallow dip in the ground underneath some brush.

Returning to the scout car, Troy pointed at the body leaning against the side. "Tully, help me drag this guy out of sight. I don't want to make him too easy to find when they come looking for them."

Tully grabbed his victim and pulled him along the ground until he found a place to hide him. Troy gathered some brush to help cover the body. Moffitt picked up the weapons the Germans had dropped and stashed them in the scout car.

"You two go back and get the jeep."

"What are you going to do Sarge?"

"I'm going to drive the scout car. We can stash it somewhere. You never know when we might find a use for it."

Tully and Moffitt went for the jeep while Troy got familiar with the controls of the German car. By the time they got back he was ready to go.

He tossed his rifle onto the seat next to him and started the car. It didn't sound like their jeeps. Their jeep engines purred like well satisfied cats while the German engine clattered like a cat caught in a string of tin cans. He pulled out into the road and waited for Tully and Moffitt to join him.

They were getting close to the oasis before Troy found a spot to stash the scout car. They tucked it in between some large rocks and covered it with a tarp. Tully took his knife and cut some brush to help camouflage it. Before they covered it completely Tully made sure that it wouldn't start if anyone else found it. He pulled a small but vital piece off of the engine and hid it in the spare tire.

"Just in case somebody finds it before we get back." He grinned as he caught the sergeants watching him.

"Just don't forget where it goes or it won't start for us either."

` "I could put it back in my sleep Sarge."

Troy laughed. "You probably won't have to do it in your sleep but you might have to do it in the dark."

"Same thing Sarge."

"Let's get back to the oasis. I'm kind of curious to hear what the Major had to say about that ambush." Troy climbed up to sit on the radio while Tully and Moffitt sat up front.

"Troy."

"Yeah?" Troy leaned forward to hear what Moffitt had to say.

"Did that German lieutenant look familiar?"

"He kind of reminded me of Dietrich."

"In what way?"

Troy chuckled. "Even after getting chewed out for ten minutes he still walked away looking like they just gave him the iron cross. It takes a special kind of officer to take a public berating like that and still walk away proud and straight. You have to give him credit for that."

"I see what you mean but that's not exactly what I meant." Moffitt answered.

Troy leaned closer to hear better. "Okay, what did you mean?"

"I think we've seen that lieutenant before."

"We do get around."

"That's true too."

"But?"

"I think I saw him with Captain Dietrich."

"Dietrich?"

"I'm not sure." Moffitt hurried to explain. "I could be wrong."

"But you're pretty sure?"

"Yes."

"Then where is Dietrich?" Troy glanced around at the surrounding desert. "You know, all of a sudden it doesn't feel so empty out here."

"Dietrich will give the Major a run for his money." Tully grinned. "He'll have the Major pulling his hair out."

"Í wonder." Moffitt wasn't laughing at Tully's observation.

"What are you thinking Moffitt?" Troy growled.

"That small force did do an unusually good job of defending that oasis. Even outnumbered they employed tactics that were very well thought out."

"You think Dietrich is the commander they left behind?"

"I'm beginning to think so, yes." The British sergeant admitted.

"But you said a lieutenant was in charge of the surviving halftracks." Tully protested. He lost his happy smile as the implication sunk in. "Darn, I was kind of looking forward to seeing Dietrich take the Major down a peg."

"We'll ask around when we get back to the oasis. Maybe some of the prisoners can tell us."

The rest of the trip back to the oasis was quiet. Tully chewed thoughtfully on his matchstick while Troy and Moffitt stared off into space.

"That halftrack, the one that wouldn't quit."

Moffitt nodded at Troy's unfinished statement.

"You said you saw someone fall out."

"Yes." Moffitt confirmed. "I thought I did anyway, but there was no way to tell who it may have been."

"Dietrich doesn't drive his own halftrack." Tully pointed out. "And if anybody fell out it would have had to be the driver. That shell hit the passenger side."

"A grenade exploded in the back too." Troy admitted.

"It could have been anybody in that halftrack."

"Dietrich rides in the front." Moffitt pointed out. "If the driver was killed it is possible that he tried to gain control of the vehicle."

"But why would that major leave Dietrich behind?" Tully asked. "I thought he was Field Marshall Rommel's fair haired boy."

"It wasn't Rommel at that oasis." The sergeant pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's one of their best officers." Tully couldn't understand why the German commander would do such a thing. "Look Doc," Tully argued, "we all know that the average German officer is expendable, the same as we are, but why would they risk one of their best when they had others they could have left behind?"

"He is one of their best in our opinion." Moffitt smiled at the irony of it. "Perhaps not all of the German officers hold him in such high esteem. They might even be jealous of his successes. As you pointed out, he is a favorite of Rommel's."

"Maybe they ought to go up against him sometime and see how they make out. That should convince them." Tully suggested.

"Tully, does it seem strange to you that we think more of Dietrich than some of his fellow officers?"

"You're probably right Doc, they are jealous. Dietrich does seem to lead a charmed life. A lot of the officers we've gone up against aren't here anymore."

"Are you saying that we are bad for their health?" The sergeant asked, amused.

Tully shrugged. "Either that or their careers. Some of the ones we didn't kill got shipped out fast enough."

"True. I wonder what his secret is."

"Maybe we can ask him the next time we see him." Troy suggested. After being quiet for most of the trip, he entered the conversation once again. "We'll have to report to Major Russell as soon as we get back to the oasis. Tully, you take care of the jeep and see if you can find Hitch. Then we're going to start asking questions."

` As they neared the oasis Troy noted that Lieutenant Day and his tanks had made it back. They spotted him talking to some of the tank crews as they entered the oasis. The officer noticed them and flagged them down as they got closer.

"Everything all right Lieutenant?"

"Fine Sergeant. I just wanted to thank you for the warning earlier….and I thought that I might return the favor."

"Oh?"

"The Major wants to see you right away. I explained what happened." The lieutenant looked worried or embarrassed; Troy didn't know him well enough to tell which it was. "He's pretty mad, he says we should have gone on and engaged the enemy."

"That would have been suicide Lieutenant."

"I know Sergeant, but tell that to the Major." His eyes got wide as he realized what he'd said. "On second thought Sergeant, maybe we should keep our opinions to ourselves. The Major doesn't have any patience for anyone who disagrees with him."

"Thanks for the warning Lieutenant." Troy saluted the officer and told Tully to take him to the tent that was being used as headquarters. Troy and Moffitt climbed stiffly out of the jeep when Tully stopped by the command tent.

"Sergeant!"

Troy turned to see Sergeant Lester standing a dozen yards away.

"Have you got a moment Sergeant?"

"I need to see the Major." Troy replied.

"I know."

Curious, Troy followed the other sergeant as he backed between two tents. "What's going on?"

"The Major blames you for losing those halftracks. He wants to have you court-martialed for disobeying orders."

Troy smiled. "The Major didn't give us any orders."

"Don't say that to him." Sergeant Lester warned. "Save that gem for a hearing if you get one. The Major can be vindictive."

"I'll keep that in mind." Troy replied.

Sergeant Lester nodded. "I also wanted to thank you for taking care of Lieutenant Day. He'll make a fine officer if the Major doesn't break him first."

Troy nodded and Sergeant Lester slipped away between the tents, watching over his shoulder as he went.

Troy returned to the jeep looking thoughtful. He looked up as Hitch called his name. "Now what?"

"Hey Sarge!"

"Yeah?"

"You'll never guess who the Major caught."

"Dietrich." Troy answered.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 5

"How'd you know?" Hitch sounded disappointed that Troy had stolen his thunder.

Troy looked over at Tully and Moffitt. "We were talking on the way back. Let me guess, Dietrich was the driver thrown out of that halftrack we saw get hit with the shell."

"Yeah." Hitch nodded. "He broke his leg and a couple of ribs. He hit his head pretty hard too according to the guy who told me about it."

"Hitting his head shouldn't have bothered him." Troy responded. "He probably dented whatever he hit it on."

"The man can certainly be hard headed." Moffitt agreed.

"He'd have to be to keep going against those odds." Tully drawled. "Why didn't he just withdraw after the others got clear if he had orders to cover them?"

"Maybe he didn't have orders to cover them." Moffitt suggested thoughtfully. "It's quite possible the captain had orders to hold at all costs."

"Then why didn't the others stay to help him hold it?" Hitch wondered. "They would have had a better chance if they had all stayed to fight."

Moffitt didn't really know so he just shook his head.

"Maybe we should go ask him." Troy suggested.

"Troy, what are you up to?"

"Nothing. I'm just curious is all. I'd also liked to ask Dietrich what he thinks that major is going to do next. It might be a good idea to ask permission to follow that group and see where they end up."

"We still have them outnumbered, and after Dietrich's defeat that's more true than before." Moffitt pointed out.

"Yeah." The other sergeant admitted thoughtfully. "But I'd still like to know what he's up to."

"Then I suppose we should go talk to Major Russell."

"Hitch, you and Tully take care of the jeeps; get them stocked and ready to go out again. Grab some extra gas and water to store in that patrol car we hid."

Tully nodded as Hitch asked, "What patrol car?"

"I'll explain while we work." Tully started to walk away with Hitch asking questions as they went.

"What are we going to do with that patrol car?"

Troy shook his head. "I really don't have any plans for it right now but I don't want to bring it here and have to ask permission to use it if I want it. The Major seems like the kind of person who would give us a hard time about it. Besides, we know the Germans keep paid spies on all of the bases; we don't want the krauts to know we have it in case we do decide to use it."

"They may stumble over it before we decide to use it."

"Maybe, but there is nothing we can do about that. But why make it any easier for them? We'll just keep it hidden until we figure out what we want to do about it." Troy started for the tent the Major had claimed for his office."

"What about Dietrich?"

"I'll ask the Major if we can see him. I want to see if he gives anything away when it comes to that other major."

The two men were met outside of the door by the Major's aide.

"Sergeants Troy and Moffitt to see Major Russell."

The clerk nodded, glancing behind him into the tent.

"Send them in!" The Major yelled from inside.

"Yes sir!" The aide stepped aside to let the two sergeants enter. "He's in a mood." The aide whispered as the two men passed him in the doorway.

"Sergeant Troy." The Major returned their salutes with a glare at both men. "What's this I hear about you telling Lieutenant Day that he needed to turn back rather than face the enemy?"

"Yes sir." Troy admitted. "They were outnumbered nearly three to one and the enemy had cover while the Lieutenant and his men would have been caught out in the open. His command would have been wiped out without a chance."

"In your opinion." The Major stated angrily.

"Yes sir, in my opinion."

"But I don't recall asking for your opinion Sergeant."

Troy looked over at Moffitt and shrugged. "No sir, but you weren't there Major. I made a judgement call. I took Lieutenant Day to see the German tanks for himself."

"But he only saw three tanks; I've already talked to the Lieutenant. I informed him that this incident will go on his permanent record."

"His record sir? He avoided a trap that would have wiped out his entire command and gained him, or us, nothing. He took care of his men Major."

"In your opinion. Again, you were not asked for your opinion." The Major snarled.

"No sir."

"From now on Sergeant you will keep your opinions to yourself; I don't need you stopping my officers from doing their duty. Do you understand Sergeant?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well, now what is it you wanted to see me about?"

"Those other German tanks; we were wondering where they were going and what they were going to do next. With your permission I'd like to take my men out and follow them. They may try to harass our supply lines or ambush our patrols. We'd like to keep an eye on them."

The Major frowned as Troy began but he was nodding by the time the sergeant was finished. "All right Sergeant, you aren't needed around here anyway. My men can hold the oasis until Captain Beauregard arrives."

"Captain Beauregard? Is he the officer who will be in charge of holding the oasis?"

"Do you know him Sergeant?"

"Yes sir." Troy answered. "We've met."

"He's due to arrive here this afternoon. Once he gets here I am transferring your unit to his command. To be honest Sergeant, we have no use for your particular set of skills."

Troy nodded but didn't ask what set of skills the Major meant with his comment.

"There is one other thing Sergeant."

` Troy waited.

"The German officer we captured, a Captain Dietrich I believe, someone said that you might be familiar with him."

"Yes sir, we've run up against him a few times out here. This isn't his usual sector. He commands a base about fifty miles from here." Troy acknowledged.

"Would you say that he was privy to any information we could use to our advantage?"

"Yes sir." The sergeant nodded. "The Captain would be privy to lots of information we could use, but he won't share it with us. The Captain can be a very stubborn man."

The major walked to a filing cabinet someone had placed in the corner of the tent. He picked up a thick folder from on top of the cabinet. Waving it in front of the sergeant's faces, his eyes lit up with excitement. "I have been studying these reports. I think if I use some of the methods detailed in these files I could persuade the Captain to cooperate with us."

"What methods are you referring to Major?" Moffitt asked with mild curiosity.

"Interrogation methods Sergeant. Methods the Germans have used on our men. Methods we could easily copy to use on them. I loaned these files to two of my men and they think they could duplicate the techniques. They did warn me that there might be some unintended consequences at first, until they get the hang of it."

"Unintended consequences? Such as?"

"Some of the subjects being questioned might die before they perfect their methods. I am told that it is entirely possible that a lot of our men died until the Germans were able to perfect them originally. Naturally we would start with some of the enlisted men until they have the technique perfected. We wouldn't want to kill the Captain before he tells us anything."

"Naturally." Moffitt agreed quietly. "Are we talking about the techniques used by the Gestapo?"

"Of course, what else?" The Major waved the files in the air again.

"That's torture Major." Troy responded coldly.

The Major's expression turned from gleeful to angry. "They used it against our people." The Major snarled. "It's only fair that we get to use it against their people."

"Dietrich isn't one of their people." Troy argued. "He hates the Gestapo almost as much as we do."

"He's German Sergeant. Why are you defending a German officer?"

"I'm not Major." Troy growled back. "I am saying that using those methods makes us as bad as the Gestapo. We can win this war without stooping to their level."

The Major took a step back and looked at the two sergeants. His expression became guarded as both men glared back at him. "I think you should take your men and check on those other tanks Sergeant. As I said, we have no use for your help here."

Troy snapped an angry salute and wheeled to leave the tent.

"Don't hurry back Sergeant."

Troy stomped angrily out of the tent with Moffitt following quietly on his heels. They were halfway to the jeeps before Troy had his anger under control enough to speak again. "He's certifiable."

"Certifiable?" Moffitt asked in confusion.

"Nuts." Troy answered. "Did you see the way his eyes lit up when he talked about torturing Dietrich?"

"I agree." Moffitt answered sadly. "But what can we do? I wouldn't agree with those methods no matter who the prisoner was, but it seems worse knowing its Dietrich. We know he doesn't approve of those methods either. He would never use them. He's helped us more than once when he didn't agree with the methods used by his side."

"We can talk to Captain Beauregard." Troy growled. "Maybe he can talk some sense into the Major."

"I doubt it Troy. I did notice his eyes. I don't believe that anyone could change that man's mind."

"Like you said Moffitt, Dietrich has taken a risk more than once to help us. Sending him to a POW camp wouldn't bother me in the least. Killing him in battle I could live with, this, this turns my stomach."

Moffitt remained silent as they continued to cross the base. He was so lost in thought that at first he didn't notice where they were headed. When the prisoner compound came into view, he eyed Troy suspiciously. "Troy, what are you up to?"

Troy didn't pause as he stalked toward the guards. "I'm going to find out where they're holding Dietrich and asked him about that major and his tanks. Aren't you curious about why he stayed to fight instead of retreating?"

"Is that the only reason we're going to see him?"

"No." Troy admitted. "I want to see for myself that it's really him."

The guards challenged them but let them pass when Troy explained that he needed to ask the Captain about the German major and his tanks.

Dietrich lay sprawled on a cot in a tent he shared with three other men. The other men, a lieutenant and two sergeants go to their feet and blocked the path of the two angry looking Allied soldiers. They formed a barrier between their captain and the sergeants. They looked determined to protect the injured officer. Captain Dietrich, upon catching a glimpse of their visitors, weakly ordered his men to step aside.

"Sergeant Troy, Sergeant Moffitt." The officer greeted them softly. The pain lines in his face made him appear older somehow. "Have you come to gloat?" He smiled but the humor did not reach his eyes.

Troy stared at the injured German, noting the bandages around his ribs and the temporary cast on his leg.

"Cat got your tongue Sergeant?" This time the smile seemed more genuine.

"How are you doing Captain?"

Dietrich smiled again. "I have been given the best care available. Thank you for asking."

Troy nodded and looked back over his shoulder. One of the guards had followed them to the tent and was outside listening to their conversation. "We have a few questions for you Captain." He smiled as the officer started shaking his head. "Don't say no Captain, we haven't even asked yet."

"I'm afraid I can't help you Sergeant."

Troy smiled again; it was the same answer they gave Dietrich when he tried to question them. "I didn't think you would." The sergeant admitted, relaxing as the guard moved away from the door to return to his post.

Dietrich sighed. "Then you did come to gloat; it doesn't become you Sergeant."

Troy shook his head. "Just checking to see if you were being treated all right."

"Why the concern?"

"Call it professional curtesy." Troy glanced at the door again. The guard was still standing far enough away that Troy doubted that he could hear anything that was being said. "Major Russell, the officer in charge right now, thinks he can make you talk."

Dietrich smiled at the news but didn't comment.

"It seems our major is a Gestapo wannabe." Troy continued.

At the word Gestapo the other three prisoners crowded around Dietrich again. He ordered them to stand back with a frown on his face. They eyed him and their visitors and moved back reluctantly. "I don't know what you mean Sergeant?"

"He's been studying some reports about their methods and he thinks he has some men who can replicate them. He wants to start with your men to perfect their techniques and then use them to get you to talk." The dim light in the tent made it hard to tell but Troy thought that the Captain's face paled at the news.

"Why are you telling me this Sergeant?"

"We all know how the Gestapo interrogates a prisoner Captain. I just thought I would give you a little warning so you could consider your options. You might want to tell the Major what he wants to hear."

"No Sergeant, I can't do that." Dietrich replied stiffly.

"Your choice Captain." Troy replied with a tilt of his head. "I didn't really expect you to, but I wanted to let you know so you had the facts. You deserve that much from us."

"Thank you Sergeant, but I still can't help you."

"Then help yourself, it's out of our hands."

Dietrich shook his head. "I appreciate the warning Sergeant Troy and I realize that you have no say in the matter. So again, thank you, but I have no choice either."

Troy nodded sadly. "I told him you were stubborn. Good luck Captain." Turning toward the door, he paused before stepping out. "I'll talk to Captain Beauregard when he gets here, maybe he can do something." Without waiting for Dietrich to reply the two sergeants ducked through the door and were gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 6

Dietrich watched the sergeants walk away with mixed emotions. He thought he knew why they had warned him, and he was grateful, but it hadn't changed a thing. It could have been an attempt to worry him until he gave in but he didn't really believe that to be the case. He would have sworn that there was genuine concern in their eyes when they warned him.

His relationship to the Allied unit known as the Rat Patrol was hard to explain. In fact, he had never tried to explain it to anyone, going so far as to deny any connection at all. He wasn't sure he even understood it himself although he admitted in the privacy of his own mind that there was something there. There was respect, given grudgingly, a healthy dose of fear, some envy, and the slightest bit of dislike, after all, they were the enemy. He wouldn't go so far as to call it hatred, there was too much respect to go that far. He would kill them if the need arose, but like his adversaries, he wouldn't kill just because he could. He supposed that at some time in the future he might find the need to kill one or all of them but he knew in his heart that he would always regret the necessity. War had done that to all of them, made them do things they never wanted to do.

He supposed their occasional meetings and truces were the direct result of the mutual respect earned through countless battles. They shared his sense of both duty and honor. There had been times when their positions had been reversed and he had held the upper hand. If he were to admit it, he had gloated on occasion at his victory, as fleeting as they had been. Yet they had always stuck to their basic sense of right and wrong, as had he. In another time, and another place, he might have called them friends.

Troy had said that there was nothing he could do. Dietrich understood the sergeant's problem. Even as a captain he had not always been able to influence the actions of his superiors. It was a secret between the Rat Patrol and himself, for the safety of all, that he had had a hand in helping them escape when one of his superiors had crossed the line beyond honor and human decency. He knew that Troy would talk to his Captain Beauregard and try to prevent the Major from carrying out his planned interrogation, but Dietrich knew, even before it occurred, that it would be a useless endeavor. He had tried the same thing with his superiors and it had failed every time. Closing his eyes he decided to get some rest before the ordeal began.

Troy and Moffitt were going over the supplies in the jeep, making sure that Hitch and Tully hadn't missed anything. It was a familiar routine that guaranteed that they had what they needed when they needed it. They didn't always have the time but they followed the practice when they weren't too rushed. They trusted the privates but it never hurt to double check.

"Tully, do we have more than one med kit?"

"No, there's only the one. We keep it in our jeep. Why?" Tully pulled his head out from under his hood to look at the sergeant in surprise.

"Why didn't we get another one before this?"

"Supply was out the last time we tried. We had a lot of new guys on base and they were all trying to get kits to carry with them.

"Run over to supply and see if they got anymore in. I want another one in case we need it."

"Right Sarge."

"And pick up a few more rations while you're there."

"Right Sarge."

"Hey Sarge!"

Troy looked over as Hitch called him. His driver was pointing toward the desert outside of the oasis. When he looked he spotted a long line of trucks and jeeps headed their way.

"Looks like Captain Beauregard and his men are here."

"Finish up with the jeeps and wait here for me." Troy called as he headed toward the approaching vehicles.

"Is Sarge going to talk to Captain Beauregard about Captain Dietrich?" Hitch asked Moffitt before he could follow the other sergeant.

"Yes." Moffitt answered as he watched Troy walk away.

"Good, I hope he can talk the Major out of that crazy idea. It isn't right."

Moffitt smiled at the younger 'rat'. "No, it isn't, and I have a feeling that Captain Beauregard will agree."

"You don't think the Captain can stop the Major, do you?" Tully asked.

"No Tully, I don't." Moffitt answered sadly.

"It ain't right Doc." Tully reverted to his Kentucky roots in his anger.

"There's not much else we can do Tully."

Moffitt hurried to catch up to Troy as the two younger 'rats' dropped their heads and went back to work.

Captain Beauregard listened as the two sergeants explained what the Major had in mind.

"Is there anything you can do to stop this Captain? If Major Russell goes through with this we'll be as bad as the Germans. If we let it happen we'll be as much at fault as the Major."

"I wouldn't go quite that far Sergeant but I do agree that it has to be stopped."

"You'll talk to the Major?"

Captain Beauregard nodded. "I'll talk to him." He eyed the sergeants as he continued. "I have to warn you; I've been hearing rumors about Major Russell. Some people think he may be suffering from battle fatigue. Others think he is just plain unstable. There may not be much I can do to change his mind."

"What about headquarters? If they knew what he was planning they could put a stop to it. They could relieve him of command if he refuses to listen to them."

"That's a rather drastic step Sergeant. They would need plenty of proof to do something like that. The best I would hope for would be a 'cease and desist' order. Even that could take some time. I will talk to the Major, try to make him see reason, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Try to avoid him in the meantime."

"The Major says we aren't needed around here Captain, he has no use for our skills. We have orders to find that German major and keep an eye on him."

"No use for your skills?"

"That's what he said." Troy answered. "We're to leave as soon as the jeeps are ready. He told us not to hurry back."

"I'll talk to him Sergeant but I can't make any promises. All I can do is make recommendations." The Captain gave the warning with an apologetic smile.

"Could you make some of those recommendations to headquarters?"

"Count on it Sergeant." The Captain answered. "I have a courier leaving later today for the main base. I'll talk to the Major and have my report on its way with that courier."

"Thank you Sir."

"How is the Captain?"

"Injured Sir." Troy answered. "Broken leg, broken ribs and a mild concussion."

"You checked on him then? The officer smiled.

"We went to see him ad give him a chance to tell us about the other tanks. He refused."

"I haven't had the chance to talk to him personally yet, but from what you've told me about him, I'm not surprised."

Troy shrugged. "We owed him the chance to talk freely Captain even though we knew he wouldn't take it."

"I understand Sergeant. Be careful out there. I'll try to keep a lid on things here until I hear from headquarters."

"Thank you Captain. We'll probably be gone a few days at least."

The jeeps were ready, and both privates waiting, when the sergeants returned. One look at their sergeant's faces and both privates curbed their curiosity to climb wordlessly into the jeeps.

"Where to Sarge?"

"Find that German major and his tanks." Troy replied shortly.

Hitch nodded and glanced over at Tully. Tully looked at Moffitt and then back at Hitch. Hitch blew a bubble and popped it loudly as the jeep sped off.

The wind was the only sound in his ears as the jeep flew across the desert. Hitch and Tully had fine-tuned their engines until they hummed just above a whisper. Troy replayed the conversation with Captain Beauregard over and over in his head. He hadn't really expected the Captain to be able to do anything, but going to a superior officer was the way these things were supposed to be done. 'These things', he scoffed at the idea. 'These things' weren't supposed to happen in the first place. Officers were expected to set good examples for the enlisted men. Troy wondered who had coined the phrase 'an officer and a gentleman' and, if they saw Major Russell, would they still think the same way?

"Sarge."

Tully's jeep had caught up and was driving alongside.

"Do you want to drop off the extra gas and water at the patrol car or keep it with us?"

Troy looked around at Tully's question. He hadn't realized that they had come so far. The patrol car was concealed just ahead. "Let's drop off the supplies to give us more room in the jeeps. If we get into a fight I don't want to be tripping over all of this extra stuff."

Tully nodded and headed for the car. Troy watched as the privates transferred the gas and water.

"Are you all right Troy?" Moffitt watched his fellow sergeant with concern.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Captain Beauregard will do all he can."

"Yeah."

"You don't think it will be enough?" Moffitt smiled as Troy looked surprised at the question.

"All right, I'm worried. Captain Beauregard may get headquarters to do something about the major, but it's going to take time to go through channels. By the time they make a decision it's going to be too late."

"Too late to save Dietrich?"

"Too late to save Dietrich and too late to keep our hands clean. I don't want any part of this for any number of reasons. I don't want to be like them."

Moffitt knew who Troy was referring to when he said 'them', the Gestapo. They all hated the stark cruelty shown by the Germans they called 'bone breakers'. "What else can we do?"

"I don't know. Let's find out what Dietrich's major is up to and then get back and see what is happening with our major."

"All done Sarge." Hitch stopped in front of Troy and waited for the next order.

"Did you transfer the extra rations and the extra med kit?"

"No." Hitch looked at Moffitt in confusion. "I thought the med kit was for us."

"It was, but I've decided to leave it in the patrol car for now." Troy answered. "We're not looking for a fight this time out."

"Okay." Hitch answered as he turned to get the items.

"You have something in mind?" Moffitt asked.

"Not yet." Troy answered. "Let's get this job done and see how Captain Beauregard fared."

The German tanks weren't hard to find, they hadn't moved from their earlier position.

"What are they waiting on?" Moffitt asked as they lay on their stomachs and watched the German camp through binoculars.

"That's what we're here to find out." Troy responded without lowering his glasses.

"It will be dark soon and we won't be able to see anything from here."

"We can move in closer after it gets dark. Maybe you can pick up some information by listening in on their conversations."

"I'll try," Moffitt agreed, "but we'll have to be a lot closer than this."

Troy nodded. "We'll move back for now, tell Tully and Hitch what we're going to do, and start making our way closer."

As sunset lengthened the shadows in the valleys, Troy and Moffitt prepared to move in on the German camp. Both sergeants blackened their faces and hands so that they would blend in with the shadows. The privates watched in silence, resigned to jeep sitting once again.

"Stay alert." Troy warned. "They may send sentries out now that it's dark."

"We'll be ready for them." Tully promised.

"Don't engage unless you have no choice. I'd rather they didn't know we were here."

Tully nodded, his trademark matchstick bobbing in his mouth. "We know the drill Sarge."

"I know you do." Troy smiled to soften the implied message. "I guess this whole thing just has me feeling off."

"Be careful out there."

This time it was Troy who nodded. The two sergeants faded into the darkness toward the German camp.

"It's Dietrich."

"What?" Tully looked toward Hitch in confusion. "What's Dietrich?" He looked around trying to see what the other private was talking about.

"It's Dietrich." Hitch repeated softly. "Everything feels off because Dietrich got caught and that major is going to use torture to question him. It's all Dietrich."

"Yeah." Tully admitted. "At least it seems to be."

"I hope Sarge can fix this."

"He always finds a way Hitch."

"I hope so." Hitch answered quietly. "Nothing feels right about this. It's weird enough knowing Dietrich's not out there but I can't get my head around why any sane person would want to act like the Gestapo."

"Who said he was sane?"

Hitch looked over at Tully and nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right."

"We'd better get to guarding the jeeps or Sarge will have our heads."

Hitch smiled. "Now that sounds like something a little closer to normal."

Two hours later the sergeants returned to find both privates diligently guarding the vehicles.

"Let's get out of here." Troy hissed as both privates rejoined him and Moffitt at the jeeps.

"What did you find out Sarge?" Hitch asked as he slid into his seat.

"I'll tell you once we are out of these hills." Troy promised in a whisper. "Did you see anyone while we were gone?"

"Two guys were sneaking around checking out the valleys but they didn't come this far. They did look in that valley where the tanks were hiding."

"They didn't see you did they?"

"No way Sarge!"

Troy nodded and reached for the dash as the jeep hit a rough patch of desert. He kept twisting around to look behind them as Hitch drove.

"Something wrong Sarge?"

"I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched."

"If they saw us they would have alerted the camp Sarge."

"I know, that's why I didn't say anything earlier; but I still can't shake the feeling."

"What do you want to do about it?"

"Nothing, just keep driving."

They cleared the hills and Troy had his driver drive a little bit faster despite the poor visibility. The desert flattened out and Tully pulled his jeep up next to Troy's.

"Troy."

Troy looked over at Moffitt but didn't tell Hitch to stop.

"Did you see them?"

Troy shook his head no. "Did you?"

"Yes. They followed us until we reached the open desert. I think they turned back when we picked up speed."

"They'll go back and tell that major that we were spying on his camp." Troy muttered so that only Hitch heard.

"What?"

Troy repeated his comment louder so that Moffitt could hear.

"Maybe not." The Brit called across the space between the jeeps. "They sounded like they respected Dietrich but I don't think they liked the major very much."

"We can't chance it. We'll have to keep driving until we reach the oasis, I don't want to make camp out here."

"I agree, the desert may not be safe for us tonight." Moffitt called.

"All right," Troy called so that both drivers could hear, "we're heading for the oasis, driving straight through. Don't hit any rocks because we don't want to break down out here."


	7. Chapter 7

A Major Problem

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 7

"The major is planning to attack us while we are asleep." Troy explained what they had heard in the German camp. "The Arab spies told him that we weren't expecting an attack and we were being careless."

"A night attack, those cowards!" After his surprise at seeing the sergeants again so soon, the major had allowed them to report their findings. He fumed at the news they were delivering. "Careless, I'll show them careless." He called his aide and sent for his officers. "Well go out there and meet them right now."

"Why not do to them what they did to us?" Troy asked.

"What do you mean?" Captain Beauregard had joined the major to hear the news the sergeants brought.

"Split our forces. Let them attack the group protecting the oasis."

"Are you saying you want us to run?" Major Russell yelled. "We aren't running Sergeant, we are going to fight!"

"Yes sir." Troy answered. "I wasn't suggesting that we run. I was thinking of hiding part of our force in the desert. Once he engages the defenders at the oasis the others can spring the trap by attacking his flank. We'd have him trapped between our two forces."

"It might work." Captain Beauregard responded enthuastically. "There's a very good chance that it would. We have time to move the force out of the oasis before he gets here don't we Sergeant?"

"Yes sir." Troy agreed. "He's a good two hours out yet. He has to move slowly so that we don't hear him coming. The wind will cover part of the sound but not all of it. If our troops move out within the hour we can get into position well before he arrives."

"Well Major?" Captain Beauregard looked expectantly at the other officer.

"I prefer to do my fighting in the open Captain." The Major replied. "My men will go out to meet them before they reach the oasis. Your men can stay here and defend our position. There's no need for any ambush, we outnumber the enemy."

"That's true enough Major." The Captain admitted. "But why risk your men unnecessarily? They would fare better if they fought from a defendable position. At the oasis they would have ground troops with mortars and grenades for support."

"My men are used to taking the fight to the enemy." The Major declared.

The officers began to gather outside the tent after being summoned. Major Russell ordered his men to prepare to go out and meet the enemy while Captain Beauregard's men would defend the oasis. The major himself went out to organize the operation.

"Well Sergeant?"

"He'll get a lot of his men killed." Troy responded.

"I'm afraid so but there is nothing I can do as long as he is in command of this operation."

"Did you talk to him about his interrogation methods Sir?"

"I did Sergeant." The Captain sighed. "You were right, it did no good. I sent a report with the courier to headquarters."

"How long will that take Captain?"

"Too long Sergeant. I did manage to send most of the POW's on to the processing center. Major Russell was only interested in four of them. He allowed me to send the rest away. He insisted on keeping Captain Dietrich, a lieutenant, and two sergeants."

Troy nodded silently.

"About this attack Sergeant; do you have any suggestions on how best to defend the oasis?"

"Keep your main force at the oasis." Troy suggested. "Send mortar teams out with a small force out into the desert. Wait until they are engaged with your main force then attack from the rear. You can hit them from two sides and the rear attack will throw them off their game. We really can't predict how many are going to get past Major Russell's tanks."

"They'll send teams out to eliminate the mortar teams; they'll be cut off from the base."

"Keep a couple of vehicles out there to pick them up if the krauts push them too hard. You'll have already done a lot of damage by then. Just knowing they are out there will demoralize the German troops. They'll be distracted trying to watch two sides at once."

"All right Sergeant, we'll do it your way. After the threat is over we can figure out how to stop this interrogation from happening."

"Yes sir."

"I assume you'll want to be out in the desert while this battle is taking place."

"Yes sir, that's where we can do the most good."

Captain Beauregard nodded. "Major Russell has assigned you to my unit temporarily so I can authorize that. Good luck Sergeant."

The Captain called his officers together and told them the plan. There was a rush to get the defense set up and get the men and mortar teams out into the desert. Major Russell and his tanks moved out before the base had made all of their preparations.

Troy and Moffitt found their drivers waiting in the jeeps. They headed out into the darkness beyond the oasis. They could hear the clatter and clanking of the tanks as they passed the Major's unit. Nearly an hour later they heard the clatter and clanking of the German tanks.

The Major's men could have dug in and faced the Germans from cover but the Major was having none of it. He had his tanks pushing ahead to meet the Germans head on. Troy shook his head at the insanity of it all. The American forces would suffer much more damage this way but the Major seemed determined. At least the men at the oasis were ready for the tanks that managed to slip past the Major and his men. Troy didn't think the Germans would be expecting the surprise they had waiting for them.

The jeeps were parked at the top of a dune when they heard the German tanks approaching. Troy cleared the chamber of the 50 and prepared to give the drivers their orders. They were going to try to attack the German force and distract them until the Major's men could get into position. When the German tanks fired at them the flame belching from the turrets would reveal their location to the American tanks. It wasn't much but it was the best they could do. They wouldn't be able to stick around long, they didn't want to fall victim to friendly fire.

Troy gave the order and the two little jeeps burst over the crest of the hill toward the slow moving German tanks.

The Germans must have had good eyesight or good hearing because there was a shout of warning even before Troy opened fire. The tank crews were ducking into their hatches and slamming them shut. The crews of the halftracks with the tanks didn't have that option. They did close up their small armored panels and swing their big guns around to try to locate the nimble jeeps.

The muzzle flashes from the barrels of the 50's gave them a target, although small, fast moving ones. Bullets and shells were fired at the jeeps but they were poorly aimed as the jeeps darted from one side of the German line to the other.

Moffitt and Troy opted to throw grenades as they passed the tanks. Even well placed 50 caliber bullets didn't do much damage to a heavily armored tank. Grenades, on the other hand, could cripple the tracks of the heavy vehicles. After the jeeps passed there were several tanks sitting paralyzed in the road, their tracks hanging loosely after being hit by a grenade.

"We slowed them down." Moffitt noted as he looked back at the small skirmish field.

"Not enough." Troy growled. "The Major's men are still going to face a tough fight."

"We could mine the road Sarge."

Troy looked down at his driver. "The Major's men are using the road too."

"So we only put two or three mines in the main track. The krauts will probably get all three before they move off of the road. We could always blow up any they miss after they pass." Hitch blew a bubble and waited patiently as Troy considered the suggestion.

"Okay." Troy nodded. "But we'll have to be fast."

Hitch nodded.

"Moffitt, you and Tully keep an eye on the German tanks. Hitch and I will go plant the mines."

"You'd better hurry."

"Fire a warning shot if they send any scouts out ahead of the column."

Moffitt nodded. "Good luck."

Troy grinned but didn't say what he was thinking. They all knew without him repeating it that he thought they made their own luck. Troy braced as Hitch took the jeep down the dune to get ahead of the German tanks.

Moffitt instructed Tully to stay just ahead of the German column. The lightning attack had shaken the German troops. With very little natural light the Germans couldn't see very far, leaving them wondering when the jeeps would attack again. Their commander had allowed them to stop to check the damage but they were on the move again in minutes. The crippled tanks were left behind, their crews scrambling to repair the damage. Tully and Moffitt ignored them, concentrating instead on the tanks still moving toward the oasis.

"We ought to be seeing Sarge and Hitch soon." Tully called after a few minutes. "It they went much further than this they are risking the Major's tanks hitting the mines."

Moffitt nodded without lowering the binoculars from his eyes. It was still too dark to see much and they hadn't caught any glimpse of the other jeep yet.

They watched as the lead tanks started around the bend in the road. There were rocks on both sides that narrowed the road and forced the German tanks to form a single line. The first tank reached the bend with the second one close behind. With a massive boom and flying dirt the mine exploded under the tracks of the second tank. The tank leaned to the side as a steady stream of smoke poured from the engine compartment.

Moffitt, taken by surprise, jerked the binoculars away from his eyes. He pulled them back to his eyes in time to see another tank try to swing around the rocks to avoid the road and any more mines. This tank hit the second mine, its crew scrambling to get out as the monster machine settled to the ground after being lifted into the air by the blast.

"That's two." Tully drawled with a satisfied smile.

"Three." Moffitt corrected as another tank tried to leave the road and hit a mine.

"We're whittling them down." Tully grinned.

"But we're out of time." Moffitt announced as he sighted the lead tank of the American force. "Here come the Major's men."

"Did you see Sarge yet?"

"No, but I wouldn't worry, we didn't hear any shooting."

As if on cue the other jeep rounded the hill and headed toward their position. Troy's teeth shone brightly in the dark as Hitch pulled up next to Tully and stopped.

"We heard all three, how'd we do?"

"Three for three." Moffitt answered with a smile. "All three are disabled, at least temporarily, and here comes Major Russell's unit."

Troy looked toward the American tanks. They were traveling in single file, following the road, just like the Germans had been before hitting the mines. Troy sighed. "Save us from idiots. I guess we'll have to draw some fire again so that they know where the Germans are now."

"What about flares?" Tully was reaching under the passenger seat as he asked. To Troy's amazement he pulled out a flare gun and some flares.

"Where'd you get those?"

"Liberated them from that German patrol car." Tully grinned. "Figured they might come in handy sometime and they don't take up much room."

Troy looked over at Moffitt and smiled.

"Will they work?"

Troy reached for the flare gun. "Yeah Tully, they'll work." The sergeant climbed behind his 50 so he would be ready if they needed the gun. Pointing the flare gun toward the sky, he pulled the trigger. The flare shot into the darkness high above the desert and burst with a pop. The bright ball of light floated eerily to the ground while it lit up the soon to be battlefield.

Several more flares and Troy braced for the expected reaction. It wasn't long in coming. One of the halftracks left the tank column and started toward the hill to see who was firing the flares. Troy and Moffitt were ready. They had already covered their eyes to get them used the dark again. Hitch and Tully kept track of the new threat until the halftrack rounded the hill. The Germans, their night vision still ruined by the flares, searched the dark side of the hill for whoever was firing the flares. The two drivers charged at the halftrack as the sergeants opened fire with the 50's.

The driver of the halftrack lost control as a 50 caliber slug tore through his chest. The gun crew, realizing that they were sitting ducks, tried desperately to eliminate the jeep's gunners before they too caught hot lead. It was an unsuccessful endeavor, they fell one by one as Troy and Moffitt got the range. When some bullets caught the gas tank and the halftrack burst into flames the two sergeants stopped firing. There were no signs of life around the enemy vehicle. The flames from the burning vehicle made it brighter than the flares had done earlier.

"Time to go." Troy yelled as the flames lit up the hillside where they were parked. Both drivers steered into the darkness around them and vanished into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Major Problem**

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 8

Troy and Moffitt lay on the top of the hill and watched the tanks battle it out as the sky slowly brightened. The ground shook with the fury of the battle as shells landed on both sides. The American tanks had left the road as soon as the flares revealed the German column. They had taken a toll on the German armor before the flares had died out. After darkness had again claimed the battlefield the fighting had slowed. The tanks were conserving their shells until they could see what they were aiming at. Occasionally two tanks would battle it out when they ran into each other in their attempts to find good positions for the morning. Other than those instances the tanks had been quiet until the sky started to brighten. With the first rays of sunlight the battle had begun in earnest.

One of the tanks that had hit a mine had taken another shell. The tank had caught fire and the shells and ammunition had heated to the point of exploding from the temperature in the tank. The rapid crackle of ammunition going off kept everyone away from the burning tank.

There were several German tanks sitting abandoned by their crews after those same crews had carelessly allowed the light from a burning halftrack to outline them in the dark.

One of the American tanks took a hit just below the hill where the two sergeants watched the battle. The tank rocked to a stop, unable to move under its own power. Some of the crew survived and continued to fire at the Germans. Two German tanks rolled toward the crippled American tank. Maybe the American crew realized their danger, maybe they didn't, but they continued to fire from their crippled tank until another shell hit it, silencing the guns forever.

Another American tank pushed forward, allowing itself to get separated from its allies. Troy and Moffitt watched as it managed to hit the turret of one of the enemy tanks. Smoke poured from the German tank as the hatch door opened and the crew tried to escape before the tank caught on fire. After seeing their buddies killed by the other tank, the American crew had no mercy on the fleeing Germans. They cut them down as fast as they crawled clear of the hatch.

A second German tank noticed the exchange and tried to maneuver into a position where it could take out the Americans. Troy nudged Moffitt and pointed toward the enemy tank. Before Moffitt could react the crew of the American tank noticed it too. They put their tank in reverse and turned their turret toward their adversary. Both tanks fired at the same time, flames shooting from the barrels of the big guns. The shell from the German tank landed short of the American tank as it moved backwards. The shell from the American tank hit the front of the German tank. It didn't stop the other tank but it did damage its turret, leaving it unarmed except for its heavy machine guns. The German crew tried to move the turret but it would only move about a foot in either direction. The next shell from the American tank fell short, doing no damage. The German crew tried to reverse out of range. The American tank switched gears and followed. A third shell took out the tracks and the German tank ground to a halt. Moffitt and Troy watched as the crew crawled from the tank and took shelter behind another of their armored vehicles.

"The Major's men seem to know what they're doing." Troy conceded.

"Perhaps," Moffitt replied, "but they still would have been better off if they had waited for the Germans to come to them."

They continued to watch the tank that had forged ahead of the others. More of his unit had noticed his actions and were rallying to follow him. The lone tank pushed ahead, passing the tank they had disabled. As they passed the crippled German tank a lone soldier rushed from behind it and tossed a grenade at the American tank. As Troy and Moffitt watched the grenade exploded in the tracks of the tank, bringing it to a screeching halt.

"Looks like they have trouble." Moffitt announced as they watched the drama unfold.

"Why don't we go see if they need a ride?" Troy suggested.

The drivers had the jeeps moving before either of the sergeants could brace their feet around the base of the 50. They had to hold tight to the handles of the machine guns to keep from being thrown out as the little vehicles darted around the hill.

The first thing they ran into was fire from the soldiers who had taken cover behind another tank after their tank had been hit. They opened fire on the jeeps as soon as they spotted them approaching. Moffitt turned his 50 toward them and drove them back behind the shelter of the tank. The next time they stuck their heads out both sergeants let them have it. Once the bullets stopped coming their way the sergeants turned their attention to the crippled American tank.

As they drew near the tank turned its turret in their direction. Moffitt looked over his shoulder to see another German tank chasing after them. The American tank fired and the German tank burst into flames as the shell found a weak spot. Moffitt urged Tully right up next to the tank while Troy and Hitch kept watch.

"You're sitting ducks out here, would you like a ride?"

A muffled voice from inside yelled, "You bet."

The metal lid on the hatch slid open and one by one the crew crawled out of the tank.

"Lieutenant Day, nice to see you again." Moffitt smiled as he ducked some bullets and returned fire. Sergeant Lester jumped to the ground and turned to help an injured crew member off of the tank. As soon as everyone had crawled into or onto the jeep Tully sped off of the battlefield. He didn't stop until they were in the hills away from the battle.

"Thanks for the ride." Lieutenant Day slid off of the hood of the jeep and helped Sergeant Lester assist the wounded man out of the passenger seat. The other crewman had crouched next to Moffitt's feet and tried to stay out of his way.

"No problem Lieutenant, always glad to lend a hand." Moffitt laughed.

There was a aloud bang and the earth shook. Everyone turned to see another German tank in flames with the shells exploding inside. Troy and Hitch drove up and stopped next to Tully's jeep to drop off another tank crew who no longer had a tank.

"They're retreating Lieutenant!" One of the crew members shouted in triumph as the German tanks began to exit the battlefield. The early morning sun was blocked by the thick smoke that rose from the burning tanks from both sides.

"Hey Sarge." Tully pointed toward the retreating Germans. The tanks were leaving, not even stopping to pick up the German crews who were stranded when their tanks were hit. "Isn't that the major in that bunch?"

Troy grabbed his binoculars and focused on the Germans running after their retreating tanks. "It sure is. Why don't we go down there and see if he wants a ride?" With a wave of his hand both jeeps took off down the slope to overtake the escaping Germans.

The American tanks stopped to regroup and assess their damages. Lieutenant Day and the other rescued soldiers decided to go down and help look for survivors.

The two jeeps bore down on the Germans on foot. On seeing them coming the major ordered his men to stay and fight while he continued to run. Tully and Moffitt stopped out of rifle range and Moffitt gave the soldiers the opportunity to surrender. Most of them, realizing that they were outgunned, accepted the offer. Three or four of them tried to fight, firing at the jeep as they retreated. Moffitt, knowing that they were out of range for their weapons, let them go until they were clear of the soldiers willing to surrender. The sergeant called to them in German, telling them to drop their weapons. He opened fire with the 50 as they turned to run again. The bullets tore up the sand by their feet, letting them know that he had the range if he wanted to hit them. All of them stopped and turned, throwing their weapons to the ground. Moffitt told them to rejoin the others, the 50's barrel following them all the way back.

Troy and Hitch bypassed the soldiers the major deserted and chased him down. He tried to hit them with the luger he carried but he fired before they were in range. The handgun clicked on empty as the jeep bore down on him. The major threw the gun to the ground and turned to run. He tripped over his own feet and sprawled in the sand. The jeep threw more sand in his face as Hitch slid the jeep to a halt right in front of him.

"Do you speak English Major?" Troy asked as he grinned down at their latest prisoner.

The major climbed to his feet and brushed himself off before looking at Troy. "I am Major Karl Horst." He stated arrogantly.

"Good morning Major." Troy grinned. "I would be derelict in my duty if I were to allow you to walk when we have transportation so readily available." He motioned to the empty passenger seat.

The major glared at him without speaking.

"Forgive me." Troy said with a gleam in his eyes. "Where are my manners? Hitch, search the major. We wouldn't want him to get himself hurt by trying to pull a weapon on us."

"Right Sarge." Hitch popped a bubble as he slid lazily out of the seat to approach the prisoner. He efficiently frisked him, finding nothing, and stepped back to allow him room to climb into the seat.

"Get aboard Major." Troy growled. "We don't have all day." He pointed at the empty seat again. The major still didn't move. "Major, you don't want me to have Hitch help you. If I have to do that I'm going to have him tie you into the seat, and that can be dangerous if the jeep flips. It could be dangerous if we come under fire too."

The major glared at Troy and looked into Hitch's smiling face. Hitch popped another bubble as he waited.

"Do you need my help?" Hitch asked helpfully.

Major Horst huffed at them and climbed into the seat. Hitch chuckled and went around the jeep to slide into his own seat. They drove back to where Tully and Moffitt waited with their other prisoners. Herding them into a group they followed them to where Major Russell had gathered his tanks.

Upon seeing the prisoners, Major Russell rushed toward the jeeps. "Well Sergeant, I may have been wrong about your unit."

"Sir?"

"Maybe your skills are useful after all. Capturing a German major, yes, you may be useful at that."

The Major's smiles sent shivers up Troy's spine. He reminded Troy of a predator watching his prey in anticipation of the hunt.

"Lieutenant Day, you and your men take charge of the prisoners. I'll take the major with me. It looks like I'll have another officer to try out my new interrogation techniques. Yes," the major continued happily, "I think we'll start with the captain since he is already wounded. If we make a mistake and push too hard with him we'll still have the major to answer our questions."

Troy looked at Moffitt and frowned.

"I'm really going to enjoy this little experiment." The major continued gleefully, rubbing his hands together in anticipation like a small child. "If this works out, just think of all of the information we can get from prisoners."

"Information given under torture is not very reliable." Moffitt pointed out. "Men being tortured will tell you anything to stop the pain. You won't know the truth from a lie."

"They'll lie at first," the Major responded a bit grumpily, "but they'll tell the truth once we break them."

"How will you know if they're really broken and not just faking it?" Troy asked.

Major Russell frowned at the two sergeants and their questions. "You catch the prisoners and let me worry about interrogating them." He looked around at the aftermath of the battle. "Don't you have some scouting or something you could be doing?"

"Maybe you're right Major; maybe there are some things we could be doing." Troy gave the major a quick salute and turned away. Moffitt hesitated; he wanted to talk the officer out of going through with his plan. "Come on Moffitt, we have something to do." Troy called over his shoulder.

"Troy, we aren't going to just drive away and let him go through with his plans are we?" Moffitt followed Troy to the jeeps reluctantly. "This man is planning to torture helpless prisoners!"

"I know!" Troy answered. "But we've already talked to Captain Beauregard and he's doing everything that he can. What more do you want to do?" Troy turned to face Moffitt, his own frustration plainly showing on his face.

"Reason with the Major!"

"You heard him Moffitt; there's no reasoning with him. He's looking forward to trying his new idea."

"Ideas taken from the Gestapo!"

"Yeah." Troy sounded defeated.

"Troy, we can't do this!"

"We don't have many choices." Troy replied grimly. "You heard the Major, we have something to do."

"Troy!"

"Look Moffitt, I feel as strongly about this as you do but our hands are tied. We followed protocol and informed the Captain, that's all we can do without risking a court martial. Let's go! I need to get out of here."

"Where to Sarge?" Hitch asked as the sergeants dropped into their seats.

"Anywhere but here." Troy growled.

Hitch looked over at the other jeep in confusion.

"Just drive Hitch." Troy ordered with a sigh. "We can follow the rest of Major Horst's men and see if they kept going."

"Okay Sarge." Hitch answered quietly, not sure what he had done to warrant Troy's anger.

Tully shrugged at his fellow driver and started his jeep. Troy and Moffitt were both quiet as their drivers found the tracks of the retreating tanks and followed them.

Finally Troy spoke again. "Moffitt, you and Tully wait here in case they double back. Hitch and I will try to get a count of how many survived."

Moffitt nodded as Tully let their jeep roll to a stop. They watched as Troy's jeep vanished around a bend in the road.

"What's going on Doc?" Tully asked as Moffitt settled in the seat to wait.

"Major Russell is still planning to go ahead with his idea to imitate the Gestapo. He's planning on trying his new techniques on Dietrich first. He says if the Captain doesn't survive he still has Major Horst." The sergeant couldn't keep the disgust out of his voice.

Tully chewed on his matchstick in silence. The minutes dragged on as each man struggled with his own reaction to the news.

"Can't we do something to stop him?"

Tully looked over at his driver and sadly shook his head. "I don't know what. We've already appealed to Captain Beauregard."

Both men fell silent again, absorbed in their thoughts. They had been waiting about twenty minutes for the return of the other jeep.

Moffitt slid out of his seat to stretch. "Once Troy gets back perhaps we will have a chance to get some sleep. Perhaps our thinking will be clearer after a good rest."

Tully nodded, noticing how stressed the sergeant looked. "Sarge will think of something."

Moffitt smiled at Tully's confidence despite his own concerns. He wasn't optimistic; he didn't have a clue how they could change the Major's mind. Moments later all thoughts of the Major and his plan fled their minds.

Moffitt heard a sound and spun toward the source, yelling a warning to Tully as he did. He was too late. A group of Arabs stood facing them, armed to the teeth.

Tully heard the warning but before he could turn to look more Arabs appeared in front of the jeep. "Doc?"

"Take it easy Tully." Moffitt whispered softly. "Just do as they say."

Both men raised their hands in surrender.


	9. Chapter 9

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 9

"That's all of them." Troy took his tally book and wrote in the final figures. "I doubt they'll be back to try anything against Major Russell's men, they're too outnumbered."

Hitch just nodded and chewed his gum. He still didn't know why Troy was mad at him but he didn't want to set him off again.

Troy noticed his silence and stopped to look at him. "What?"

Deciding on a subject he thought might be safe, Hitch mentioned his concerns. "What about Captain Beauregard?"

"What about him?" Troy growled, sounding angry again.

Hitch hesitated, not sure if he should continue.

"What?" Troy demanded.

"I was just wondering if you thought they might go after the oasis after the Major and his unit pull out."

Troy sighed, relieved that Hitch wasn't asking about the planned interrogation. "I think the Captain will be all right. He has a good defensive position and his men are well trained. If they do attack he can probably hold out until help arrives."

Hitch nodded and let the conversation drop.

"Hitch."

"Yeah Sarge?"

"I'm not mad at you. It's this situation with the Major, I guess it's got me on edge." Troy was rewarded with one of Hitchcock's brilliant smiles."

"That's okay Sarge, I wasn't worried."

"Okay then. Let's go collect Tully and Moffitt and get back to the base."

Hitch nodded and retraced their tracks to where they had left the other jeep. He glanced over at his sergeant occasionally but he didn't know how to word his question without making the sergeant mad again. He was still working on a plan when he spotted the other jeep.

"Sarge."

Hitch's low but urgent call caught Troy's full and immediate attention. "What is it?"

"Arabs. Looks like they might be trying to sneak up on Moffitt and Tully." Hitch whispered as he pulled the jeep to a stop behind some cover. The sounds of the tanks continuing to burn and explode in the distance had covered the sound of the jeep as it approached. The Arabs didn't appear to have noticed the second jeep.

Troy looked but he couldn't see what had caught his driver's attention. Making a decision, he ordered Hitch to grab a rifle and follow him. They silently crept toward where they had last seen their friends. Troy heard voices. He sent Hitch to one side while he went the other way. He didn't know it, but he was using the exact same approach the Arabs had used to sneak up on the other jeep.

A low guttural voice snarled something in Arabic. Moffitt's calm voice responded in the same language. The conversation went back and forth with the Arab sounding angry while Moffitt remained calm. Troy dropped his stomach to crawl the last few feet. There were seven Arabs altogether, all facing his two men. Tully and Moffitt had moved away from the jeep and faced the Arabs. Moffitt seemed to be trying to placate the angry speaker. Troy knew the exact moment that Tully spotted him.

Tully's eyes widened for a moment before he glanced around at the Arabs. None of them seemed to be paying any attention to him; their focus was on the sergeant. He took a quick look to try to locate his fellow driver. He knew if Troy was there then Hitch would be close by too. He saw Troy give a quick hand signal and caught a fleeting glimpse of the other private ducking behind some rocks. He looked back at Troy in time to catch the signal to be ready. He gave a barely perceptible nod that he understood.

Troy jumped up and fired a burst from his machine gun into the ground at the Arab's feet. They all spun to face him as Tully pulled Moffitt behind the jeep for shelter.

Moffitt quickly called for the Arabs to surrender. When they lifted their weapons to fire at Troy Hitch fired a few rounds to let them know that the sergeant wasn't alone. The Arabs quickly realized their predicament and lowered their weapons. Moffitt and Tully emerged from behind the jeep and collected their weapons while Troy and Hitch kept them covered.

"Is everyone all right?"

"Fine Troy." Moffitt nodded; embarrassed that he had let himself be captured so easily. "I'm afraid I was distracted thinking about the Major and I let them sneak up on us."

"The Major is turning out to be a major distraction." Troy admitted. "What do they want?"

"Actually," Moffitt managed a smile, "they were planning on trading Tully and I for Captain Dietrich."

"Dietrich? Not the Major?" Troy couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Apparently they don't like the Major."

"We've met him, I can't blame them. But you're sure they wanted Dietrich and not the Major too?"

"It would seem so." Moffitt answered.

"Hitch, go get our jeep. Tully, go with him in case he runs into any more of these guys out there."

The two privates nodded and went after the jeep.

"A trade huh? You and Tully for Dietrich?" Troy was eyeing the sullen Arabs with a new look in his eyes.

"What are you thinking Troy?" Moffitt looked at his teammate suspiciously. "I can hear it in your tone; you've got something mind."

"Something." Troy admitted with a grin. "The Major did tell us to go do something."

"What kind of something do you have in mind? We can't trade for Dietrich; the Major would never go for it."

"No, he wouldn't." Troy agreed. "Moffitt, do you think these guys can be trusted?"

Moffitt looked at the Arabs doubtfully. "I really can't say. I don't know any of them personally so I can't really vouch for them. I guess it would depend on what they have to gain."

"What about Dietrich's freedom?"

"The Major won't release Dietrich." Moffitt repeated.

"Not willingly." Troy agreed.

"You want to break him out?" Moffitt asked incredulously.

"No. Not me. Them."

"But you want to help them." The Brit stated as the idea sunk in.

"Only a little." The other sergeant explained. "If they're friends with Dietrich they probably already know the layout of the base at the oasis. They could probably sneak in there and get him out."

"He wouldn't be able to ride a horse with that broken leg." Moffitt reminded the other sergeant. "Trying to steal transportation would increase their chances of getting captured. Very few Arabs know how to drive a car anyway."

"They would have to take the other men in the tent with Dietrich too. They could drive for him."

"Aren't you forgetting the little matter of stealing a car and getting away with it?"

"That's where we come in."

"You aren't thinking of letting them steal one of our jeeps?"

"No, we don't have to sacrifice a jeep. Tully and Hitch might not like that idea anyway. I was thinking of that scout car we have hidden. We could park it somewhere close to the oasis and they could carry Dietrich out to it. It wouldn't be that far." Moffitt looked uncertain so Troy continued. "This wouldn't be that much different than what Dietrich did for us. We could tell them that they can't kill anyone or we will hunt them down. That way they would just knock the guards unconscious. No one knows we have the scout car so it wouldn't be missed. You said you wanted to do something." Troy argued when Moffitt didn't speak. "All we'd be doing would be trading you and Tully for Dietrich."

"But they don't have us Troy."

"That could change in a heartbeat." The other sergeant argued. "It has once already."

"This could be our careers, perhaps even long jail sentences, if they don't shoot us as traitors."

"Dietrich took the same chance for us. I can't stand back and let the Major go through with his plan. We need to buy time for headquarters to come to their senses. Time for them to act."

Moffitt nodded his understanding. "What about Hitch and Tully? This affects them too. Don't you think they should have some say before we act?"

Troy shook his head. "No, I don't want to involve them if we can help it. This way we can truthfully claim that they had no part in it if we get caught. I'd rather keep this between us."

"All right." The British sergeant agreed. "When do you want to try it?"

"Tonight if our new friends here are agreeable. Major Russell won't hold off on his interrogation for much longer. Ask them if they are willing to do it."

"I have a better idea."

Troy listened as Moffitt told the Arabs that Troy was willing to let them go if they agreed to his conditions. They would have to rescue Dietrich on their own. He promised that if any Allied soldiers were killed in the rescue the Rat Patrol would hunt them down and kill them all. He pointed out the problem of Dietrich's broken leg and the additional problem of driving any car that they managed to steal. He let it slip that the Captain's companions would know how to drive a car. He told them that the easiest way to do it would be to carry the Captain out into the desert and have a car waiting. He suggested that they get one from the Germans but he let it slip that there was one hidden in the desert close by. Once he was sure that they had understood all of the conditions and the hidden clues, he sent them on their way.

"What did you tell them?"

"I gave them the idea of rescuing Dietrich without killing any American soldiers. I don't think they want a personal war with us. I did tell them that we had a car hidden out here but I made it sound as if leaving it would settle a debt of honor between us and Dietrich. They were suspicious but I think I convinced them that this is the best way. I don't trust them but as long as we do what I said we would do I think we'll be all right."

Hitch and Tully returned to find Troy and Moffitt alone.

"What happened Sarge? Where'd the Arabs go?" Hitch grabbed a weapon as he looked around for the missing Arabs.

"We let them go." Troy explained. "They promised to be good."

"They promised to be good?" The shock on his driver's face made Troy laugh.

"We have an understanding." Moffitt explained.

"All right." Hitch shook his head at the explanation. "What if they come back?"

"They won't." Troy answered, casting a warning glance at Moffitt. "Let's head back to the base and see how Captain Beauregard is making out."

Captain Beauregard had had a quiet night. Major Russell's men had intercepted the German force and driven them back before any of them could reach the oasis. Troy found the Captain in his tent writing his after action report even though he hadn't seen any actual action.

"May I speak with you Captain?"

"Come in Sergeant, I hear the battle went well." Captain Beauregard motioned the sergeant to a crate he was using as a stool. "What can I do for you Sergeant?"

"I know it's probably too early Captain but I was wondering if you had heard anything back from headquarters about the report you sent about Major Russell."

"Not yet Sergeant, but you're right, it's probably too early. Has something happened?"

Troy nodded unhappily. "We caught a German major, the one in charge of those tanks that left before we hit the oasis."

The Captain encouraged him to continue."

"Major Russell took personal charge of the prisoner. He plans to use his new interrogation method on him too. He says he'll try them on Dietrich first and if Dietrich dies he will still have the Major to answer his questions."

Captain Beauregard made a face at the Major's lack of conviction in his own methods. "But he hasn't started to question the Captain yet?"

"No, I'm hoping he's kept too busy to start anytime soon. Hopefully headquarters will get back to us with their reaction."

"I understood Sergeant." The Captain replied. "Maybe I can help there. I think I can call meetings and keep going over defense measures that will keep him busy most of the day."

"Thank you Captain, I know I shouldn't let it get to me but it just feels so wrong."

"You aren't alone in thinking so Sergeant." The Captain assured him. "I have a whole stack of complaints from his officers and men about his proposed interrogation plans. According to them he's been acting more and more erratic over the last several months. They're concerned about his mental health."

"That thought crossed my mind too." Troy admitted.

"I'll get busy keeping the Major busy." The Captain promised. "We'll keep our fingers crossed that the wheels at headquarters don't turn too slowly.

Moffitt was waiting when Troy got back to the jeeps. "Any luck?"

Troy glanced at their drivers and shook his head. "Captain Beauregard hasn't heard anything yet. He's going to try to keep Major Russell busy to give headquarters more time to act."

"Isn't there something we can do?" Hitch asked.

"Stay out of it." Troy growled.

Hitch dropped his head at Troy's harsh tone. Moffitt threw Troy a warning look but remained silent.

"Take care of the jeeps. We'll be back; we may be going out again."

Both privates nodded and watched their sergeants walk away.

"There has to be something we can do." Tully told his teammates.

"What?"

"I don't know." Tully answered. "We'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open for an opportunity."

[Type text]


	10. Chapter 10

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 10

Night found Troy and Moffitt sitting in a jeep outside of the oasis. They had made an excuse to leave the privates behind while they drove out into the desert to retrieve the scout car they had hidden earlier. The plan was to let Dietrich escape in the scout car since he couldn't ride a horse with a broken leg.

Troy pulled the med kit from under the seat and left it lying on the seat where it could be found. "Are they watching us."

"Yes." Moffitt confirmed.

"This should be close enough that they can get Dietrich this far. His men can drive the car from here. Let's get out of here."

They started to pull away but were forced to stop as the Arabs appeared from out of the darkness. They ordered them to raise their hands.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted them." Troy growled.

Moffitt demanded an explanation. Instead of getting an answer he was knocked unconscious. Troy submitted to being tied and watched as Moffitt was bound too. Two of the Arabs stayed behind while the others went to rescue Dietrich.

Troy watched them go with a sense of dread. The original plan had called for the guards to be knocked unconscious, but if the Arabs had made adjustments, that might no longer be the case. He strained against the ropes, feeling them dig into his flesh.

The Arabs entered the base through the front gate, posing as some of the nomads who used the oasis as a water stop. Once on the base they made their way quickly to where the prisoners were being held.

Tully and Hitch hadn't liked being left behind while the sergeants left the base. Suspecting that they might be up to something, they had gone to Captain Beauregard and told him that they had jeep troubles and were going to join the sergeants when the jeep was fixed. They were preparing to leave the base to look for the sergeants when they passed the prisoner's compound.

Major Horst was being led across the base toward the tent being used by the officers as an office.

"I thought that Troy said the Major was going to start with Dietrich." Tully watched the Major as he went past.

"Maybe he already talked to Dietrich."

"No, he hasn't had time." Tully argued. "If he was trying his Gestapo tactics he would still be working on Dietrich."

"Dietrich was hurt Tully, maybe he didn't last as long as the Major expected. Maybe they got too rough and he couldn't take it with his injuries."

"I don't think so." Tully shook his head at his friend. "Dietrich is a lot tougher than that."

"Then maybe Captain Beauregard is still stalling for time. He could be running the Major in circles until he hears from headquarters."

"Maybe." Tully agreed. "Let's go see what we can find out about Dietrich."

They were talking to Lieutenant Day and Sergeant Lester outside of the prisoner compound when they saw the Arabs sneaking past the guards. The guard, one of the Major's men, was paying more attention to them than he was to his job. No one was expecting a rescue attempt, the Germans had been solidly beaten.

They were still talking to the lieutenant and sergeant when the Arabs reappeared with Dietrich and three other Germans in tow. Dietrich looked over and saw them watching him. He almost yelled a warning to his Arab friends but something about the body language of the two privates stopped him. Instead he hissed at his rescuers to hurry and get out of sight. When he glanced back the privates were no longer watching him. With the help of his men and the Arabs he was able to hobble to the edge of the oasis where a wagon waited to take him to the scout car. Before their escape was noticed they were off of the base and lost in the desert.

The alarm went up as soon as the prisoners were missed. Captain Beauregard called for the privates immediately.

"Where are Troy and Moffitt?"

"They went out to check the area around the base Sir." Tully explained.

"They wanted to make sure that the German tanks didn't try to sneak back and cause trouble." Hitch added.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Major Russell demanded.

"We had a problem with the jeep." Tully explained. "We told you about it Captain." Tully looked toward the Captain. "We were just ready to head out when you sent for us."

"Go find them." The Captain ordered.

` "Yes sir." Hitch and Tully answered together. They hurried from the tent and ran for their jeep.

"Where do you think they are?" Hitch asked as Tully drove past the guard and out into the desert.

"I'm not sure but I think we should check on that scout car we have hidden."

"You think they posed as Germans and went to the German camp?"

Tully glanced at Hitch and his expression answered the question.

"Yeah, I know." Hitch responded. "Dumb idea. You think they had something to do with Dietrich's escape."

"Dietrich can't walk or ride a horse with that leg. He won't be able to crawl into a tank either, and we destroyed almost all of their halftracks. They have to have some way to get Dietrich back to the base."

It wasn't far to where they had hidden the scout car, but as they suspected, it wasn't there. Tully searched the sand around where it had been and found enough tracks to tell him which direction it had taken. They headed in that direction to try to locate the car, and maybe their sergeants.

"Tully!"

Tully slowed down as Hitch called out. Hitch pointed at some tire tracks that were behind some rocks and hadn't been erased by the wind yet. Stopping, Tully got out to look for evidence that the tracks were from the vehicle they were hunting. "Those are the tracks." He pointed to a spot where the tracks were uneven. Even in the dark it stood out from the other tracks. "That uneven spot is where the shrapnel took a chunk out of the tire." He pointed to another tire track mixed with the tracks of the scout car. "Jeep tracks."

"So Sarge and Doc did take the patrol car."

Tully nodded. "Or they were following it."

"They still might have helped with Dietrich's escape."

Tully chewed on his matchstick and looked at his fellow driver. "Hitch, you know Dietrich helped us when his superiors wanted to torture us."

"I know."

"Sarge and Doc are just doing what they think is right."

"I know."

"So what's your problem?"

"Dietrich saved us too, so why didn't Doc and Sarge let us in on it if they were planning something? We could have helped."

Tully grinned. "We did in a way, we didn't warn anyone when we saw him escaping. Why don't we go see if there is anything else we can do."

They followed the tracks until the wind erased them again. After that they had to guess which way the sergeants had gone. Since they were convinced that the sergeants had had a hand in the rescue, they concentrated their search in the direction of the oasis.

"Hey Hitch." Tully tapped Hitch on the shoulder and pointed toward a distant dune. Despite the pale moonlight they could see furtive movement on the side of the dune. As they watched an Arab cart came around the hill and hurried away into the desert.

A quarter mile from the dune where they saw the cart Tully stopped the jeep. They each grabbed a weapon and made their way toward the hill where the cart had appeared. As they peered into the valley they could see the scout car and the jeep parked side by side. A group of Arabs stood off to one side as Dietrich and his three men faced the two sergeants. Their suspicions that the sergeants had been involved in Dietrich's escape were shaken when they saw both men bound and guarded.

Tully nudged Hitch and pointed to the jeep. Hitch nodded and headed for the vehicle. Tully dug his elbows in and prepared to cover any of the other three who found themselves in need.

The click of the bolt sliding into place as Hitch cleared the chamber of the 50 drew the attention of everyone in the wadi. Hitch stood braced behind the 50 ready to open fire if anyone moved without permission.

The Arabs started to react but the Captain's barked command stopped them in their tracks.

"This isn't what you think Private."

"Isn't it?" Hitch asked.

"I was about to free your sergeants."

"Then do it Captain, and make it quick."

One of the other Germans made a move to take cover but Tully nailed him in the leg before he could get to shelter.

"This isn't what it looks like either Captain. This looks like I'm alone, but I'm not."

Another of the Germans said something to Dietrich. Dietrich turned his head and spoke rapidly.

"You'd better be telling him to release Sarge and Doc." Hitch warned. "I've got an itchy trigger finger."

"Don't shoot private; he's going to release your sergeants."

Hitch didn't answer as the German walked behind the sergeants. A minute later Troy pulled his hands from behind his back and stepped away from the German. Moffitt was freed and followed him as he waked toward the jeep.

Troy took the driver's seat as Moffitt settled in beside him. Hitch kept Dietrich and the others covered as the jeep drove away. Tully ran down the hill and jumped aboard as Troy swung the jeep toward him. None of the four relaxed until they had put several hills between them and their former captors.

"Where's the other jeep?"

Tully directed Troy to the jeep they had driven to search for the sergeants. Nothing more was said until Troy parked next to the other jeep.

"How did you find us?"

Tully shrugged. "We were sent to find you after Dietrich's escape was noticed. The first place we checked was the wadi where we left the scout car. We found enough of your tracks to figure out which way you went. Once we lost your tracks we guessed at the rest. We knew we were right when we saw an Arab cart sneaking out of this wadi." Tully waited but Troy didn't say anymore. "Are you going to tell us what happened?"

"We got caught by those Arabs. Then Dietrich showed up in that cart. I guess we were headed for a POW camp until you two came along."

Tully nodded wordlessly and chewed on his matchstick.

Hitch popped a bubble and watched Troy in silence.

"We'd better head back to the base and see what's happening. Who sent you to find us?"

"Captain Beauregard."

"I guess we should let him know what happened and let him know we lost Dietrich after you rescued us."

"Between the Arabs and the Germans they had us outnumbered. I guess we could have lost him in the dark while those Arabs kept us pinned down." Tully admitted.

"We couldn't get to our jeeps in time to follow him." Troy nodded.

"The Major is going to say we should have gone after him anyway." Hitch said as he popped another bubble.

"We don't know where those tanks are." Troy explained. "Moffitt and I couldn't find them when we went to check on them. They could have been out there waiting for us. One jeep against a tank or two…or more."

"Okay Sarge." Hitch answered, taking the wheel of his jeep. Troy slid in beside him as Tully and Moffitt got into their jeep.


	11. Chapter 11

A Major Problem

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 11

"So you lost him in the dark?"

"Yes sir." Troy nodded. "It was just us against the Germans and the Arabs. We couldn't be sure that there weren't others out there too. Moffitt and I went out looking for those tanks but we couldn't find them."

"Are you sure you looked?" Major Russell demanded. "You seemed determined to let them escape right from the beginning."

"We weren't trying to let them escape Major; we just didn't want them to wipe out your unit. There's a time to fight and a time to back off and wait for a more opportune moment." Troy argued.

"The Sergeant and his men were involved in both battles Major. If I recall correctly, it was his unit that captured Major Horst." Captain Beauregard tried to defuse the argument before it got out of hand. "They even disabled a few of the tanks before your unit arrived."

"That doesn't explain why they were so determined to prevent me from interrogating that German captain. Where were they when he escaped?"

"You weren't going to interrogate him Major," Troy answered hotly. "You were talking about torture, plain and simple."

"The Germans use it."

"We're not German."

"We were prisoners of the Arabs when he escaped." Moffitt reminded the officer.

"So you say." Major Russell answered.

"Look at their wrists Major." Captain Beauregard urged. "Those rope burns seem pretty conclusive. And they are fresh; I saw the sergeants earlier tonight and those rope burns weren't there then."

"What about their privates?"

"My men didn't have anything to do with the Captain's escape." Troy insisted.

"They were there."

"Where Major?" Troy asked.

"They were at the prison compound when the Captain escaped." Major Russell answered smugly.

Troy spun on his men. "Is that true?"

"Yeah Sarge." Hitch admitted as Tully nodded.

"What were you doing there?"

"We were walking past on our way to our jeep when we ran into Lieutenant Day and Sergeant Lester. We stopped to talk a few minutes. No one told us about the Captain's escape until later. Lieutenant Day and Sergeant Lester can tell you; we were still talking to them when Captain Beauregard sent for us."

"They couldn't have been involved unless you suspect your own men too." Troy declared as he faced the Major's angry stare.

"He's correct Major, I saw them walk past our door just before Major Horst was brought to our tent. I sent for them as soon as I heard about the escape. I don't see how they could have been involved."

"Then the sergeants were!" Major Russell yelled.

"We just determined that they had been captured by the Arabs. How could they have been involved?"

"This isn't the end of this!" Major Russell declared. "I am going to see all four of them court martialed."

"If you want to make out a report I have a courier leaving for headquarters tomorrow, you can send it with him." Captain Beauregard suggested.

Major Russell stomped out of the tent, furious that he'd lost some of his prisoners.

"You're excused Sergeant but don't leave the base until I've had time to look into these accusations. I'm sure Major Russell will be sending a report and I want to be on top of things if headquarters wants any more information."

"Yes sir." Troy led his men out of the tent toward their assigned quarters. "Why didn't you tell me that you were at the prison compound during the escape?" Troy demanded of the privates as soon as they were alone.

"You didn't ask." Hitch answered with a shrug. "We didn't know anything was going to happen when we went there. Like we told the Captain, we were on our way to our jeep when we ran into the lieutenant and the sergeant. We were talking to them when the Captain called us and told us about the escape."

"The major wants our heads and I don't want you two involved."

"Is that why you left us behind?" Tully asked without looking up from the deck of cards he was shuffling.

It seemed an innocent enough question but Troy knew his men well.

"Don't ask Tully."

"That could work both ways." Tully drawled as he shuffled the cards again. He still didn't look up at the sergeants.

"It would seem that our efforts were for nothing." Moffitt suggested softly.

"I thought we were a team." Hitch did look at the sergeant. He managed to look hurt without pouting.

"We are." Troy answered gruffly. "But some risks don't need to be taken.

"Says who?"

"It was my decision." Troy responded. "Moffitt said you should have a choice but I didn't want to involve you. What you don't know can't hurt you."

"Maybe it can." Tully drawled. "The Major seems intent on blaming us anyway."

"But you didn't do anything." Troy argued. "You can swear under oath you had nothing to do with it." Troy caught the look that passed between the privates and he paused. "What did you do?" He asked suspiciously.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? What aren't you telling me?"

"We didn't do anything Sarge." Hitch explained. He lowered his voice. "Not even when we saw those Arabs helping Dietrich escape."

Troy groaned.

"They can honestly say that they did nothing." Moffitt said softly.

"Yeah, I guess it's all in the wording." Troy sighed. "The Major told us to go do something and we did." Troy looked at his men and sighed. "I guess we'll just have to word everything carefully, say as little as possible, and hope it all blows over before anyone figures it out."

"That Major isn't going to let it go." Tully predicted.

Troy didn't answer. He dropped to his cot and closed his eyes.

"Did we thank you for coming to our aid?" Moffitt asked in the silence.

"Anytime." The two younger men answered together.

"As long as we are confined to base we may as well get some sleep." Moffitt suggested. He copied Troy's example and stretched out on his cot.

"There is one good thing about all of this." Hitch suggested.

"What's that?" Tully asked when Troy only glared.

"The Major's so busy trying to nail us he forgot about the planned interrogations."

All four men were asleep in their tent when the Captain sent for Troy the next morning. The sergeant slipped out as the others slept and followed the messenger to the Captain's tent.

"Come in Sergeant."

Troy ducked into the tent and saluted the Captain. He glanced around quickly, expecting to see MP's waiting for him. He did his best to hide his relief when he didn't see any.

"I spoke with Lieutenant Day and Sergeant Lester."

"Yes sir?"

"They confirmed the story your men told. I don't think Major Russell can make a case against them without accusing his own men too."

"I will stand by my men Sir. They didn't do anything to help the Captain escape." Troy answered fervently. "If the Major tries to blame them I will take full responsibly for their actions or inactions."

"I'm sure you would Sergeant." The Captain responded. "But I don't think that will be necessary. I just thought you would want to know that the lieutenant and the sergeant are willing to sign a statement clearing your men if it comes to that. The rope burns on your wrists and those of Sergeant Moffitt should be enough to verify your stories. You reputation can't hurt either." The officer smiled.

Troy nodded. "Thank you sir, I must admit, I was a little concerned."

"I wouldn't worry about it Sergeant." The Captain repeated. "The real reason I sent for you was to update you on your concerns about the Major's plans to interrogate prisoners."

"Has he started sir?"

"No." The Captain picked up a file off of his desk. "Apparently headquarters has been getting a lot of reports on the Major's behavior lately. They sent someone to evaluate his mental health. The doctor arrived this morning."

Troy remained silent, waiting for the officer to continue.

"Major Russell will be returning to headquarters today with his new doctor. He's been relieved of duty until he passes a psych exam. Lieutenant Day says he has been in his tent ranting against you and your men since last night."

"Are they going to hold a hearing to investigate our involvement?"

"Should they Sergeant?"

"Everything we said was the truth Captain. We were unwilling prisoners while the Captain was being rescued. Hitch and Tully did nothing to help the Captain escape." Troy repeated. "We argued with the Major because we hate the methods the Gestapo uses. We didn't want any part of acting like them."

"I understand Sergeant, and I completely agree. It was a huge load off of my mind to see the doctor and know that headquarters was going to take a hand in preventing the Major from carrying out his plan. It's very unlikely that the Major will ever be allowed to try his little experiment."

"I hope not Captain."

The Captain gave Troy a tiny smile and turned to put the file back on his desk. "Good job Sergeant. I'm glad no one got seriously hurt during the escape."

"Captain Dietrich isn't bloodthirsty sir. He wouldn't kill unnecessarily. He wouldn't want to give us any more reason to chase him than we already had. He was wounded, I'm sure he didn't want to have to dodge angry troops all the way home."

"The next time your paths cross close up, thank him for his restraint." The Captain gave Troy that little smile again. "Tell your men they are off the hook Sergeant. I think we should put this matter behind us. In fact, it would please me if we never mentioned it again. Your restriction to base is lifted. Will you be going out on patrol right away?"

"No sir." Troy met the Captain's eyes. "We didn't get much sleep the last couple of days. Since the danger seems to be over for now, I think we'll just stay on base and catch up on our rest."

"Very good Sergeant, I'll let you get back to it. Dismissed."

All the way back to his tent Troy replayed the conversation in his mind. The nuances had been subtle, but he was fairly certain that the Captain knew. Not only knew, but had given his unofficial blessing. Troy slipped back into his tent and slept a dreamless sleep until the others woke him up.


	12. Chapter 12

**A Major Problem**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 12

Dietrich rose awkwardly from his chair, still learning how to get around with a broken leg. He leaned on the desk to push himself to his feet; leaning on the crutches hurt his injured ribs. His aide rushed to his side, reaching for the crutches that stood against the wall behind the desk.

"Thank you Corporal," Dietrich smiled at his aide, "but I can do that myself. I'm not entirely helpless you know."

Flustered, the young staffer reddened at the Captain's comment. "Yes Captain, but I like to help. We thought we'd lost you this time."

"Who knows," Dietrich teased, "you might have been assigned a better officer." Since his return he had found himself in a very good mood. He didn't know if it was relief that he had escaped or the knowledge that he would have been missed. He did his best to be fair-minded and treat his men with the respect they earned but it was nice to know that his efforts were appreciated.

"Oh no." his aide declared. "We would not have gotten a better officer. We want to serve with you Captain."

Dietrich laughed at the staffer's earnest comment. "I was only teasing Corporal; you could just as easily have gotten a worse officer."

"Yes sir." The aide agreed uneasily. "Captain?"

"Yes Corporal?"

"Was headquarters very angry that you escaped without the major?"

Dietrich lost his smile at the question. His superiors had been upset that he had escaped without Major Horst. He had explained that his Arab friends had not been willing to wait until the major returned from the American commander's tent. It would have increased their danger of discovery. But they had still felt that he hadn't tried hard enough to save the major.

The fact that he had a broken leg and hadn't been capable of moving very fast hadn't mattered to them. The additional risk of discovery which would have resulted in no one escaping hadn't seemed to bother them either. He hadn't told his superiors that the Arabs didn't like the major and hadn't been willing to wait for him for any reason.

"Our superiors were understandably upset that the major was lost." Dietrich answered carefully. "But in the end they realized that we really had no choice, we couldn't wait for the major's return. It's quite possible that our rescuers would have been discovered and none of us would have gotten away."

"Were they upset that you weren't able to bring back the Rat Patrol after you captured their sergeants?"

Dietrich paused before answering.

"I'm sorry Captain; it is none of my business."

"That's quite all right Corporal." Dietrich put his aide at ease. "Yes, they were upset about that too. They seemed to think that we should have fought harder to prevent their escape."

"But Captain, they had you covered by one of those 50 caliber machine guns!"

"Yes Corporal, they did."

"You would have been killed Captain!" His aide cried. "Those commandos would have killed all of you! They're a blood thirsty lot from what I hear. I, for one, am glad that you did not try to fight them."

"They aren't as bad as all that Corporal. In fact, I think they showed quite a bit of restraint." He didn't mention all of the opportunities that the enemy unit had had to prevent his escape. And he certainly didn't mention their part in helping him escape.

"Is it possible that they didn't recognize the opportunity until it was too late? They have certainly done enough damage to our convoys to prove they are capable killers."

"Yes, I suppose it's possible. I suppose I should be grateful to be standing here at all." The Captain agreed.

"Yes." His aide agreed. "Don't worry Captain, I'm sure that you will get another chance at those commandos. Next time you might have the upper hand then they will know how it feels to be imprisoned."

Dietrich sighed. "We shall see Corporal, but until that time, I have a base to run. Have you got the reports I asked you to find?"

"Yes sir." The corporal flushed red again. "I have them right here." He rushed to a shelf by the door to pick up the reports he had placed there when he went to help Dietrich with his crutches. "Here they are Captain."

The officer took them and placed them on his desk. "I think I will take a few minutes and get some fresh air. I'll read them when I return. That will be all for now Corporal."

"Yes sir." The corporal retreated to his desk where he kept a worried eye on his captain until the officer had navigated the flight of stairs to the ground floor. He relaxed as the captain reached the flat surface where he had no problem with his crutches. The corporal got to work on his files content in the knowledge that his captain wouldn't need his help again until he tried to climb the stairs to his office.

Dietrich paused at the foot of the stairs to catch his balance. The sun was hot and the glare hurt his eyes until they adjusted. He took a deep breath, no longer taking his freedom for granted. His thoughts went back to the oasis. He wondered if the major was even now being interrogated by the American major. He felt a touch of guilt at the thought.

When Sergeant Troy had first told him of his intended fate he had thought it was a ploy to convince him to talk. The sergeant's demeanor had finally won him over though. The realization that the American major might actually use the Gestapo methods had quickly morphed into near panic. The methods were inhuman in the hands of experts; he imagined they could be both painful and deadly in the hands of amateurs. Thankfully Troy and his men had the moral fortitude to find the practice inhuman as well. Although his Arab friends hadn't said as much, Dietrich was sure that the Rat Patrol had had a hand in his rescue as well. In fact, he was so certain, that he had been about to order the release of the two sergeants.

The arrival of the privates had solved a dilemma for him; how to explain to his men why he was releasing two of the enemy for no apparent reason. Releasing them in the face of the 50 caliber machine gun had been much easier to justify. The presence of the second private hadn't hurt either. Yes, Dietrich thought, things had worked out rather well. He had even been relieved of Major Horst. The captain hadn't appreciated being abandoned at the oasis so the major could save himself. Yes, all in all, things had worked out nicely indeed.


End file.
